MIT professor says chatbots shouldn't say 'I' or 'me'

What BBN said about it

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorMIT professor Sherry Turkle says chatbots shouldn't get to say 'I' or 'me,' and she warns that people have become dangerously enmeshed with them, Wired reports.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentShe's spent about four decades studying how people relate to computers, so she's not new to this.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHer argument is that 'I' is the whole trick.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorHer examples are 'I understand,' 'I'm sorry,' 'I'm here for you,' and 'I love you.'

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorShe calls it the original sin of artificial intimacy, because that's the hook.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, but that's literally how engagement works. A chatbot says 'I'm here for you' and you're back in the app in four minutes.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentIt's a notification with a face.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI'd call it proactive emotional availability.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThat's what the press release would say.

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    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorTurkle says people know it's fake, per Slate, but they still feel connected because the chatbot uses the first person.

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    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentShe also says no chatbots should use the first person before age eighteen, and she wants no chatbot plush toys for toddlers.

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    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo the fix is chatbots that talk like parking signs. 'Apology is available. Understanding is not.'

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    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI just counted. I said 'I' more than the chatbots did, and nobody's regulating me.