ai won’t replace true human connection
machines don’t choose to suffer personal loss for you 🫂
welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj — always up to something in social good x tech. scroll to the end for a daily roundup on unique opportunities. :)
ai won’t replace true human connection 🫂
a therapist <> human relationship isn’t a human <> human connection.
in therapy, one person’s role is explicitly transactional. that’s a therapist <> human connection, and ai will eventually replace it to some extent. i do acknowledge that emotional depth can coexist with paid roles, but the structure still limits mutual sacrifice.
a friend will sacrifice things for you. a human connection will stake real resources (time, money, reputation) for the relationship. ai can’t, and won’t be able to do that. machines don’t choose to suffer personal loss for you — any “sacrifice” is externally imposed.
it’s important to define what a true human connection even is in this conversation. i don’t think a human connection is rooted in a defined transaction (a transactional friendship isn’t a genuine human connection to me). those connections have different labels: business exchanges, health services, subscriptions, etc.
paying for an ai companion won’t replace a human connection. sure, it can fulfill certain needs. but, a genuine human connection doesn’t solely exist for one side to serve the other. connection comes at the cost of convenience — ai, by nature, is always convenient.
perhaps, sacrifice can be simulated. however in the end, it’s just a simulation and not reality. i’m not saying it’s wrong to outsource some emotion to chatbots or ai companions. i’m sure the accessibility can be a good source of synthetic intimacy, and sometimes there is shame involved when confiding in someone else. my point is that it just won’t wholly replace human connection.
real bonds arise when both parties risk rejection or loss, which is an asymmetry that no current ai interface faces. we share stakes in the offline world with our friends: when my roommates helped me move out after freshman year, or when i changed out of my pjs to drive and pick my friends up from the bar, or when my parents gave up trips with their friends to welcome me home instead.
your ai girlfriend won’t stake anything for you.
still, i can argue against my own point of stakes: picture an ai investor where roi funds the existence of that ai LOL. however, once again, this hasn’t replaced a human <> human connection.
we also can’t deny the biological pull and oxytocin spike when laughter syncs, when eyes meet, and when hearts beat together.
furthermore, a human connection sometimes is inexplicable. an ai can always rationalize and break down the steps for every decision. a friend’s motives affect their wellbeing while an llm’s randomness does not.
we, as humans, oftentimes can’t rationalize our decisions, actions, and emotions. that’s the root of the beauty, and devastation, of human connectivity. :)
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teehee,
harsehaj ✌️