I used to help out in an old people's home (how do you call those) and there was this lady who had a stuffed animal (maybe a female lion but maybe a normal cat, idk) and she was obviously very demented because she seemed to believe it was alive and took it everywhere but it also showed me how valuable it can be to feel companionship with something. Loneliness can be a very painful experience I guess, especially if you don't have the 'tools' to deal with it. Not sure though if it is mainly a good thing or a bad thing these people now have an ai as companion.

[–] Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Not sure though if it is mainly a good thing or a bad thing these people now have an ai as companion.

It seems pretty obvious to me that a real human companion would be better - but an AI companion is definitely better than nothing. I’ve often thought about the idea of being alone on a deserted island, and how much of a difference it would make for my mental sanity to at least be able to talk to an AI rather than no one at all.

[–] huppakee@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago

I totally agree, but a risk i think AI might pose especially as they get better is these lonely people closing off even further from real humans because their adficial companion feels safer. But I also think the world is not blind and will remind people of this danger, so i expect it to be more likely a net benefit too.