This is an edited transcript of “The Ezra Klein Show,” available as a podcast. For decades, the notion of talking to A.I. or robots in daily life was science fiction, but now it is mainstream; roughly half of American adults use chatbots, and nearly one in five have conversed with a A.I. that simulates a romantic partner. The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft over copyright claims, which the companies deny.
Sociologist Sherry Turkle, who has studied human‑machine relationships since the 1970s, argues we have “a very small window” to change course. In the 1980s she foresaw computers becoming “second selves,” a prediction that now feels real with smartphones constantly in hand. She warned in 2011, shortly after Instagram launched, that social media could create a world of “alone together.”
Her latest book, *Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines*, examines today’s A.I. interactions. The data show children struggling to tell chatbots from humans, raising concerns about emotional development. Turkle’s work invites us to question whether these emerging relationships are healthy or dangerous as they proliferate.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing