By: Esme Gordon-Craig / The Independent (headline: ChatGPT has already killed off the graduate job - now it's coming for Gen Z friendships)
Translation: Telegrafi.com
No one enjoyed a good conversation like my former best friend. Dinner for us used to be our favorite time of day, reserved for over-analyzing every social fiasco that had taken over her mind. We would undo friendships that had gone downhill and laugh at the most absurd situations of our encounters. But at some point, these gossip sessions stopped and in their place was a laptop where ChatGPT-positioned himself as the newest member and leading opinion leader of our social circle.
I was and still am deeply offended by the fact that my girlfriend has apparently replaced me with an artificial intelligence [AI]. How could she replace all the wisdom and care I have gained over our years together with a chatbot that requires a monthly maintenance fee? Like many other people in their early twenties, I am used to hearing that AI is stealing the jobs of the future. I was not prepared to find out that it would also steal my girlfriends.
For my friend, using the chatbot started as an academic aid and then turned into something more personal. Social problems began to be solved by giving the AI a command - rather than thinking them up herself - and the answers came in a tone and style that strangely mimicked her own. And it wasn't just information she was looking for; it was comfort, support, even empathy - a feeling I thought was uniquely human. Our conversations gradually became replaced by a one-sided monologue, recycled from her interactions with this new artificial friend - and God forbid I suggest that was wrong.
Our usual dinner gossip sessions were cut short as it became clear which of the three of us was actually the unwanted person. In a way, I feel a little relieved to discover that I am not alone in this feeling of being replaced; others are finding themselves in the same predicament. Like the natural transition from acquaintance to friendship, more and more people are moving to using ChatGPTfrom a tool to its perception as a friend. As AI is fulfilling the tasks that were previously the basis of our social relationships, it is inevitable that these friendships will weaken, while our dependence on AI will strengthen. “I feel worthless,” one of my friends told me, “we don’t consult about dates anymore – we just write the situation down in ChatGPT and we wait for him to show us his next move."
And it's not just the relationship with friends that's affecting this. Another friend gives so much weight to her opinion. ChatGPT-so much so that she dumped a guy right after the AI decided he didn't deserve her. I'm not defending the guy - I didn't even get to know him - but I hope that in future relationships I at least won't be subject to the judgment of a mysterious artificial dictator.
The big problem here is that the advice we get from ChatGPT-isn't really advice - it's self-assessment. The fact that it only requires your approval makes it incredibly appealing to use - how nice it is to be told you're always right. And, unlike my dinner gossip schedule, ChatGPT-is available to you whenever and wherever you want. He doesn't go to work, he doesn't forget to return your call. He doesn't judge you, and he doesn't want the conversation to focus on himself. So what's the point of seeking human opinion when it's messy, uncertain, and full of self-interest?
A new version of ChatGPTwas published this month, so I decided to write to my friend to ask her how she felt. She informed me that this version is much more intelligent, but less flattering. For a moment, I felt a glimmer of hope. Could it be that the lack of flattery from CatGPT-5 Does that mean I'll have my friend back? But then it occurred to me that, like many of us, she's become dependent, and the fact that her robotic friend has found a more secure voice for herself risks making my voice - human, unpredictable - even more unnecessary. /Telegraph/
