[ExI] The allure of AI companions is hard to resist.

[BillK]

On Fri, 9 Aug 2024 at 18:46, Bill Hibbard via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> It is no coinicence that much of the most advanced AI research
> is being done by companies in the advertsing business. Persuasion
> is the killer application for AI. Regulation is under the control
> of politicians who are very much in the persuasion business so AI
> regulation will be susceptible to corruption. The most important
> regulation will be transparency requirements to expose corruption.
>
> AI companions will be great tools for persuasion.
> _______________________________________________


Yes, that's the main objective of these AI 'friends'.
BillK

See -
AI ‘Companions’ are Patient, Funny, Upbeat — and Probably Rewiring Kids’ Brains
The proliferation of friendly, often sexually suggestive, chatbots is
‘making it so easy to make a bad choice,’ one observer says.
By Greg Toppo     August 7, 2024

<https://www.the74million.org/article/ai-companions-are-patient-funny-upbeat-and-probably-rewiring-kids-brains/>
Quotes:
The AI companions both mimic our real relationships and seek to
improve upon them: Users most often text-message their AI pals on
smartphones, imitating the daily routines of platonic and romantic
relationships. But unlike their real counterparts, the AI friends are
programmed to be studiously upbeat, never critical, with a great sense
of humor and a healthy, philosophical perspective. A few premium, NSFW
models also display a ready-made lust for, well, lust.
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All of this worries observers who see in these new tools the seeds of
a rewiring of young people’s social brains. AI companions, they say,
are surely wreaking havoc on teens’ ideas around consent, emotional
attachment and realistic expectations of relationships.

Sam Hiner, executive director of the Young People’s Alliance, an
advocacy group led by college students focused on on the mental health
implications of social media, said tech “has this power to connect to
people, and yet these major design features are being leveraged to
actually make people more lonely, by drawing them towards an app
rather than fostering real connection.”
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