Exploring the regressive nature of clinging to imaginary friends and the infantilization of society, this chapter highlights the importance of understanding appropriate developmental stages for relating. It also highlights the limitations of artificial intelligence when it comes to addressing profound human emotions and experiences.
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.