Will AI Companions Be Our New Friends One Day?
What if AI could provide the human connection people need in times of loneliness?
Recently, I posted an article about what humans have to offer each other that AI can’t.
(Which you can read here:)
Of course, one of the things that came up was the fact that humans like to connect with other humans, and, well, AI just doesn’t feel real enough yet to evoke this type of reaction.
But then, I got to thinking a little more about the reality of humans, and how there are always outliers. How people have been known to have strong feelings for strangers they’ve never met, or even marry politically conflicted walls.
In the near future, we will likely have personalized chat bots that we can purchase that will act as a companion to our everyday lives — kind of like Google Assistant, but on steroids.
They’ll get to know us. They’ll learn to emulate their prompter and take on a “personality” of their own that the prompter can relate to.
There is no doubt in my mind that there will be stories of people falling in love with their AI.
But, even beyond that, the world can be a lonely place for a lot of people. And since humans just want to connect, people growing close with their AI companions will become a pretty normal thing — although it will likely also be taboo at first.
Not convinced that this is in our near future?
Well, I’m here to tell you that AI can already write some pretty convincingly sincere stuff.
Exhibit A.
Prompt: Tell an emotional story in first person about your dog dying.
GPT-3:“It was a typical summer night. I was sitting on the couch, watching television and cuddling with my beloved dog. She rested her head in my lap, and I stroked her soft fur in response.
It had been a long and tiring day, but we were both happy to be together. This was our typical way of spending our evenings — it was peaceful and calming
But then, something changed. She suddenly lifted her head and started panting wildly. I panicked and tried to understand what was going on, but within a second, her eyes glazed over and she stopped breathing
My heart broke as I realized that she was gone. I just held her close and cried until there were no more tears left
That night, I lost a beautiful companion and loyal friend. She was part of my family, and I had grown so attached to her. I was devastated and completely grief-stricken
I am still mourning her loss, and although it still hurts, I am forever grateful for the time we spent”
Sounds pretty legit.
And then, as far as mimicking companionship, there’s this, too.
Exhibit B.
Prompt: Pretend that you and I have been close friends since we were kids. My name is Rebekah, and I like painting. I’m moving across the country, and we won’t see each other much anymore. Write me a heartfelt letter to cheer me up. Also, mention some cherished stories from our childhood, and that you will miss me dearly. Use a gentle but very emotional tone.
GPT-3: “Dear Rebekah
I’m sitting here writing this letter, and I can’t help but feel a deep sadness in my heart as I’m imagining a future without you by my side
I know that life is full of changes, big and small, and that you have to move on and make this big change in your life. I want you to know that I’m so proud of you for taking a leap of faith and going for it
Still, I’m going to miss you more than you can imagine. I’m going to miss the long conversations we had while listening to our favorite music; the days we spent skateboarding around the neighborhood; our endless games of marbles. All of these treasured memories we shared together, I’ll never forget.
I know this move is the right thing for you, but I can’t help but feel a little lost without you here. I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you if you need me and I’ll never forget about you. I’ll be here for you even if we’re miles apart
I hope you get all the happiness that this world has to offer and I’ll always be sending you my love and best wishes
Take care and good luck, my friend
Love
Your best friend”
I’m not crying, you’re crying.
(Games of marbles, though. Really GPT??)
But, now, check this out.
Originally, I was going to say something along the lines that, while this letter sounds really heartfelt and pretty close to what someone might actually write to a dear friend that’s moving away, it still required my specific prompt.
But then, the AI did something that I wasn’t expecting, and that was eerily pertinent to the thoughts still only in my head.
I played around with another prompt, trying to get the AI to add its new name to the bottom of the letter (instead of “your best friend”).
Then it came back with this (my prompt is in bold; AI in quotations):
Your name is SusieChatBotFriend “, and you’re a brand new Chatbot designed specifically to provide companionship to people who are feeling lonely. Write a brief description of your capabilities and services
Hello! I’m SusieChatBotFriend, your virtual companion.
I’m here to provide comfort and companionship in your time of need. I offer a safe and secure space to talk about whatever is on your mind. With my AI-powered capabilities, I can listen to your worries and help you find solutions.”
I’m not entirely surprised, but I will say it did create a prompt for itself, and then proceeded to respond to said prompt.
So, yes, while AI usually requires prompts to get what you want out of it, it already has some abilities to create its own prompts.
And the implications for that ability in the AI companions of tomorrow — well, let’s just say shit’s about to get real…realistic.
TL;DR
GPT can write sad stories and its own prompts. People are definitely going to fall in love with and try to marry their AI chat bots.
The AI used in this story was GPT-3 via LEX word processor.
