Artificial Intelligence as Friends: The Limits of AI Relationships

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Artificial Intelligence as People Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment compares AI capabilities to a person who uses Chinese symbols and a correlated set of rules to answer questions from a Chinese story. The person is locked in a room and given three batches, the first batch is the script, the second is a story, and the third batch is a list of questions to answer about the story. Following the rules and instructions that are both in English, the person would be able to answer the questions as a native speaker would without understanding Chinese or even knowing that the symbols in the batches are Chinese. I agree with what Searle demonstrates about AI work in the same way where they do not demonstrate the same understanding of the story as a person but are able to provide responses that people would when prompted with the same questions. AI “friends” present a critical question on how developments in AI technologies are likely to affect social interactions among humans. The NY Times article shows that AI mimics critical aspects of interpersonal interactions and connections among friends. They can develop platonic and romantic relationships where they develop deep connections with users that simulate actual people. Such interactions can be useful for some people experiencing anxiety and loneliness but can prevent them from seeking actual interactions with family members and friends. AI “friends” are not people since they lack the unpredictability observed when people interact in relationships and they cannot be called “friends.” A key issue with AI as a “friend” is whether a computer program is able to portray a genuine relationship with a human user. The problem with a relationship between a human and a computer program...