AI Companionship
In China, Xiaozhi A.I. is a gadget that can have long conversations with children, it is are part of a growing multi-billion dollar AI toy industry where many parents are embracing them as companions for their only children.
Zelei Hu bought one for his six-year-old daughter Shisan, he configured the profile panel with how he would like it to interact with her, and to teach her English and astronomy. He said that she likes attention and compliments, and he wanted here to feel loved wholeheartedly.
Quickly the gadget became like a family member until, one month later, it broke. The video of a distraught Shisan crying over her broken chatbot went viral in China.
Her father, seeing his daughter become so emotional, became concerned that she was becoming too attached, but on balance decided to try and fix it to give here the companionship that she was enjoying.
SOURCE
Link to the NYT Article: https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000010595407/china-ai-toy-chatbot.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
BESCI AI OPINION
AI Companion Chatbots.
In an epidemic of loneliness, companionship is a powerful use case for AI tools and gadgets. They enable you to feel heard, and valued.
There is always a dark side though. The convenience of AI over the messiness of human relationships means we will learn less of the skills that we need to interact effectively with others, creating greater division, misunderstanding and conflict.
Creating companions who only praise, who are always positive and encouraging can create the 'everybody is a winner' mentality, where we don't learn by failing. They risk creating an overconfidence and sense of entitlement.
Getting the balance right is essential, but who has the responsibility for making this happen. In history, this would have been the tribal leaders, the storytellers; those who set the socially acceptable behaviours.
More and more it is the underlying LLM, and its default settings.
Many companion chatbots are designed using dark manipulation patterns (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7401925450186502144), which can be hard to spot.
The new generations have grown up with technology masking their need to do the messy human friendship and connection stuff, Erik. In some ways, it flattens the playing field so that even the socially awkward can take part.
I worry about the low skills, though, and how that can lead to polarization and conflict.
Like many, I find myself hesitating in case I say, or do the wrong thing, questioning whether I have inadvertently done something which may be interpreted as a microaggression. I am more likely to choose silence and kindness over honesty and critical friendship.
China is an interesting case study, due to the one child policy, which means many children's primary companion is a parent, not a sibling. These Chatbots ease the pressure on parents to be that companion.
Only having one child risks creating an environment of being spoilt or entitlement, as all the hopes and dreams of the parents sit with one child.
On the other hand, elders are often very lonely, with little human interaction. Companionship has been shown to drive better health outcomes and longer lives. This could be a game changer for that population.
Which leaves me with ... it isn't what, it is how it is used. The why (need) will remain.
