Elon University has partnered with The Washington Post to conduct what turned out to be a worrying survey about Americans viewing AI chatbots as virtual friends or therapists.

The results very much vindicate Apple’s careful decision to ensure that Siri AI doesn’t encourage such pseudo-relationships …

More than a quarter of Americans view AI chatbots in much the same way they might a close friend or therapist, according to The Washington Post.

Many talk to AI apps as they might a close friend or therapist […] 27% of Americans turn to AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini with personal, emotional or social queries, according to a new poll [including] seeking entertainment, relationship advice, romantic chats, or connection when alone.

Among the people who said they used chatbots for personal or emotional queries or discussions, nearly 4 in 10 strongly or somewhat agreed that they sometimes talked to AI to feel less alone. Nearly a third said they consider the chatbot they use most often to be a friend.

While some of this usage may serve positive purposes, the concern is that having chatbots act as an emotional substitute for friendship and romance reduces the incentives to invest time and effort in establishing genuine human connections. It may lead to a downward spiral of increasing social isolation.

Apple execs Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak said earlier this year that Siri AI will not act in this way.

Q: “So just to confirm, there are no AI girlfriends or boyfriends being created with the updated Siri AI?”

A: No, no, no. Quite the opposite. Because as you may know, if you use many of the existing chatbots, they’re really focused on engagement to a large degree. And sycophantic, right? They kind of want to pull you in. They might encourage you to reveal things about yourself and then use that as a basis to establish a connection.

And we view it quite the opposite. I mean, the way that we have designed Siri, Siri really wants to say, listen, that’s not what I’m here for, right? I’m here to help you. I can help you get things done. I can help you learn about the world. But if you try to engage Siri as a romantic partner, Siri is not up for that.

I found the survey results extremely alarming, especially after listening to the excellent Suspicious Minds: Al and the Apocalypse podcast about AI-fueled delusions. The stance Apple is taking here is absolutely the right one.

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