I was having a lunch date with a friend a couple weeks ago, and she complained about another friend being mildly irritated with her for consistently being late. I explained that she should just apologize, and my friend followed suit by asking Chatgpt to help her draft a text. I had many separate problems with this interaction. For starters, the idea that she would immediately go to Chatgpt before actually putting in the brain power to write out a text alarmed me. But the bigger concern I saw with the interaction, is the fact the AI model already had all the information it needed about her and her personal life to draft the perfect apology, complete with adequate excuses for each case of tardiness.
The overuse of AI threatens our data security, as well as the meaningful bonds we have with our counterparts. This is likely not the first time you’ve heard a claim like this: that artificial intelligence is making us dumber, highly reliant, and unable to complete tasks on our own. These claims are all true, but AI is an inevitable part of our lives. It’s integrated into the advertisements we unwillingly consume, the music we hear in shopping outlets, and possibly even the apology texts we receive from our friends. I won’t preach about the problematic nature of AI to you; you already know all the ways it harms the environment and our minds, but I do wish to urge any reader to stop using it to supplement our digital or physical connections.
The loss of human connection through AI doesn’t always have to be the people who are marrying their chatbot or those who use artificial intelligence as a therapist. Arguably, the forms of social reliance which are the most common, are actually the most dangerous. Many people I know use AI to draft emails to send to coworkers, bosses, professors, and other professional colleagues. By taking the human connection out of the interaction you can save 5 minutes and alleviate the risk of embarrassing spelling mistakes or informal language. Although interactions with these people can seem irrelevant to the larger sphere of our social life, the act of physically writing the email is a micro-interaction which helps reduce our loneliness. It’s true that young people nowadays are lonelier than ever, and maybe it’s due to the fact that many of us are choosing convenience over the act of physically speaking to another person.
To backtrack to my friend using Chatgpt to draft a text, I don’t judge her, nor does this article serve to shame those who take small shortcuts. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never used AI to simplify a recipe or summarize a movie plot I can’t be bothered to watch. But it saddens me that we are getting to a point in our relationship with AI that we don’t always see the moral faults in our usage. The other friend may have read the text, not knowing it was written by AI, and found it heartfelt and compelling in her forgiveness. My friend who sent the text may later realize in life that she forgot to grow the interpersonal skill of accountability and find it difficult to formulate the words when her next apology is due.
Either way, I think the main point I’m trying to make is not to shame the use of AI in our everyday lives. Because for better or worse, artificial intelligence is here to stay. I just think it’s important to evaluate the ways AI can make us lonelier, worse friends, and overly reliant. After all, we should be able to write our emails and apologies without the help of an emotionless robot who doesn’t care if we live or die.