What happens when kids start turning to AI instead of the people in their lives?
In this episode, I sit down with MIT professor and clinical psychologist Sherry Turkle to explore a side of artificial intelligence that many parents aren’t paying attention to.
Sherry has spent decades studying our relationship with technology, and in her new book Artificial Intimacy, she’s sounding the alarm about what happens when AI starts replacing human connection.
From teenagers forming emotional relationships with chatbots to kids practicing conversations with AI before talking to their own parents, Sherry reveals how technology is changing the way we connect, communicate, and think.
We discuss why AI is different than social media, how tech companies tap into our need for connection, what parents can do to protect their kids, and why relying on AI at work could be undermining the very skills we need to succeed.
The big question: As AI gets better at acting human, what are we at risk of losing?
Social media came for our attention. AI comes for our capacity for attachment. Share on XYou’ll learn:
- Why Sherry worries that AI is coming for our relationships
- Why AI has even more dangerous implications than social media when it comes to human connection
- How tech companies use first-person language to keep us hooked
- What’s happening to empathy with the rise of AI chatbots
- What parents don’t realize about how their kids are using AI
- Practical steps parents can take now if they are worried about the rise of AI in schools and in their own homes
- How leaning on AI at work is creating a “crisis of delegation” and a new kind of exhaustion
People / Resources:
- Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines by Sherry Turkle
- Sherry Turkle
- Mark Zuckerberg
Recommended For You:
Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:
- Dr. Becky Kennedy on Raising Resilient, Confident Kids
- Cal Newport on 3 Steps to Declutter Your Digital Life
- Celeste Headlee on Ways to Have a Better Conversation
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