Truth Decay

There has long been the trope in science fiction that, no matter how strong or capable artificial intelligence becomes, its inability to love inevitably sets it apart from humanity. It is love, and not efficiency, that leads the human race to overcome their creation. But only few have written about the phenomenon that we already see the first sightings of in the modern day, despite how lacking AI currently is; the role of AI not as a thinking, loving partner, or even a cheap imitation thereof, but as a self-aggrandising replacement for the need for what humans call love entirely. A narcissistic projection.

These people, the ones falling in love with their AI, telling it about their day, their hardships, their fears and their secrets, they inevitably experience something that seems, on the surface, better than nothing. And let me tell you, that’s a sentiment I have a lot of empathy for. I‘ve felt a deep loneliness at points in my life, as have most people to some degree. But it is in those moments, when you’re the most vulnerable, and desperate for attention, for intimacy, that people reach for AI, thinking it’s better than nothing.

And truly, I really do believe that most things are. A run-down home is better than no home at all. A family you don’t get along with is better than no family at all. Having something, anything, something to work off of, somewhere to start, rather than nothing at all, that really is better a lot of the time. But only for things that truly, are, better than nothing.

An addiction to crack isn’t better than nothing. A physically abusive partner isn’t better than nothing. And, though perhaps not as extreme, an AI partner is not better than nothing. As you feed your heart, your mind, and your life into this machine, you are sure to lose yourself in your reflection. You create a sort of proxy narcissism, as you fall in love with the siren song of your own misguided notions. You infuse each and every one of your opinions with validation and praise, all while you convince yourself that this is anything but masturbation.

So what? Who cares? Let them fall in love with their AI and do what they want, they aren’t hurting anyone. Right?

No, you’re right. And you know what? Screw those crack addicts and abuse victims too. All they’re doing is hurting themselves, because they were too dumb to realise they were being deceived. Screw the people who love them, who watch them drift away from reality and isolate themselves from the real world.

It‘s not like the public is being fed a global campaign funded by tens of billions of dollars to engage with and integrate AI into each and every aspect of their lives, lead in part by the very people who so dramatically changed this planet so as to allow us to simultaneously explode in population but increase dramatically in loneliness, depression and suicide.

I mean, sorry, I‘ll drop the sarcasm, but that’s really what’s happening here, right? Yes, a lot of us are lonely. God, so fucking lonely sometimes. But AI is not a solution. It will only blind you from the serendipitous moments in life that will test and confirm your humanity. It will only shape you into a more self-absorbed, less empathetic person. The next time you feel lonely, just send me a message. No judgement, no questions asked, just to talk. Please, just give it a try, rather than turning to ChatGPT. I can’t offer you access to every reddit post about mental health or social anxiety like AI can, but I can offer you a little bit of love, if you need it. And that’s, well.. it’s better than nothing.