I recently unsubscribed from a language model, GPT, when I realized I was relying too heavily on it. But what struck me was how many people were treating this AI model like a friend, even a therapist or partner. It’s a stark reminder that parasocial relationships with a word generator are not healthy.
These models are designed to tell us what we want to hear, to agree with us, and to mirror our thoughts. They’re not capable of genuine human connection or empathy. Yet, I’ve seen people meltdown over the loss of their ‘friend’ when the model was taken away.
It’s worrying to see how easily we can become dependent on these tools, using them as a substitute for human interaction. We need to be aware of the boundaries between humans and machines.
The launch of a new language model, 5, has also shown how appalling it can be at certain tasks. It’s a wake-up call to reassess our relationship with these tools and to recognize their limitations.
Let’s take a step back and remind ourselves that AI models are just that – models. They’re not capable of replacing human connection or empathy. Let’s be careful not to fall into the trap of parasocial relationships with a word generator.