This chapter explores the concept of artificial intimacy and how technology is mediating and changing relationships. It discusses the loneliness crisis, decrease in deep connections, and the need for clarifying the language around intimacy. The chapter also delves into the limitations of AI-assisted therapy in providing true intimacy and connection.
For all the talk about AI, we rarely hear about how it will change our relationships. As we swipe to find love and consult chatbot therapists, acclaimed psychotherapist and relationship expert Esther Perel warns that there’s another harmful “AI” on the rise — Artificial Intimacy — and how it is depriving us of real connection. Tristan and Esther discuss how depending on algorithms can fuel alienation, and then imagine how we might design technology to strengthen our social bonds.