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Can AI make older adults feel less lonely?
(techcrunch.com)
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this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2023
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Technology
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I agree I think right now the notion is very dystopian and with the current iteration of chatbots it doesn’t seem like a realistic long term solution. But you only have to think a few years down the line when LLMs have been fine tuned for this specific use case and AI is ubiquitous in our society similar to the iPhone now, that you can see how it will become totally normalised.
And just to be clear I don’t see it as a substitute for human interaction, more of a bolt on that helps people day to day.
I think it's dangerous to try to cure loneliness with an AI, regardless of sophistication and tuning, because you end up with human who's been essentially deceived into feeling better. Not only that, but they're going to eventually develop strong emotional attachments to the AI itself. And with capitalism as the driving force of society here in the U.S. I can guarantee you every abusive, unethical practice will become normalized surrounding these AI's too.
I can see it now: "If you cancel your $1,000/a year CompanionGPT we can't be held responsible for what happens to your poor, lonely grandma..." Or it will be even more direct and say the old, lonely person: "Pay $2,500 or we will switch of 'Emotional Support' module on your AI. We accept PayPal."
Saying AI's like this will be normalized doesn't mean it's an ethical thing to do. Medical exploitation is already normalized in the US. Not only is this dystopian, it's downright unconscionable, in my opinion.
Sure, I get that. Ideally people would have access to all the support they could need and a strong base of family and friends to lean on. But isn’t the issue here is that they don’t? I don’t think it’s a cure, I don’t think anyone is saying that. But I do think it could potentially provide a level of support that would alleviate some anxiety. If the alternative is for people to just sit in, let’s say, old folks home and let their brains rot I don’t see how that’s any less unethical than providing them mental stimulation in the form of an AI.
As long as it's approached as a brain training assistant (or some other market-y buzzwords) and it's being used with giant disclaimers I'm totally for using it with old, lonely people. It might not be a perfect aid but it can help in certain situations. Knowing how our society works, however, Big Company A is going to perfect the tech, make people dependent on it, and then scam them.
Considering how popular Farmville, as a game, was on Facebook I shudder to think about what a finely tuned AI, made by a for-profit company, will be capable of doing with old, lonely people.
Do you really want your mom chatting with a for-profit AI (like Google Bard) about you or your family to feel less lonely? I'd sooner let my brain rot, but to each their own.