Instagram Story Save

I am so excited to be keynoting at the Human Algorithm Summit tomorrow, a gathering of scholars, developers, philanthropists, and activists who are dedicated, as I say in Artificial Intimacy, to keeping “AI in its lane.” My goal is to lay out a cautionary tale of the damage that chatbots can do through the lifecycle, as well as a roadmap for protecting our humanity in the age of AI. Link in bio for more info.

I loved Kara Swisher’s “Kara Swisher Wants To Live Forever” and am so pleased to be featured in episode 3, where @karaswisher explores whether our need for companionship can be satisfied by chatbots. The thesis of my new book, out in September, Artificial Intimacy, is that they cannot. My favorite parts of the series are when Kara bonds with real people in real places! Follow link in bio to learn more.

It was such a pleasure to participate in the @aha_medialab Symposium 2026: Raised by AI? on April 28. The panel on AI + the Future of Relationships (with me, Professor @rwpicard, and @nbarczi) was a great experience. The three of us have been teaching together this semester, and it was very meaningful to bring our conversations to a larger audience. What most unites us is a cautionary message about chatbots and children, and we feel how that idea is finding greater resonance. Link in bio to check out the recording; our panel starts at 28 minutes.

It was great to talk about how chatbot relationships change us - they are intimate machines - with Horizons @newshour moderator William Brangham, and my colleagues @justindgregg and @nxthompson. I am struck by the irony of social media platforms increasing the conditions for greater loneliness that they then say only a new technology — chatbots — can solve. Link in bio to listen to the discussion.

A pleasure to be on a panel @worldeconomicforum about risks and promise of generative AI where the focus was on what is best for people, not what is best for AIs. Interesting questions: Can chatbots be made more transparent if this were truly a design goal? Can we make sites that encourage users to leave them and act in the world? Is there a consensus that chatbots should not be for children? #wef26

A pleasure to be on a panel @worldeconomicforum about risks and promise of generative AI where the focus was on what is best for people, not what is best for AIs. Interesting questions: Can chatbots be made more transparent if this were truly a design goal? Can we make sites that encourage users to leave them and act in the world? Is there a consensus that chatbots should not be for children? #wef26

Top recommendation in today’s @nytimes is the @nytwell book list on books to disconnect! Link in comments.

Latest book list for @nyt_well — on how to disconnect. Link in comments!

I’m delighted by the publication of the 10th anniversary of Reclaiming Conversation with my new introduction. It’s been an amazing ten years since my book came out. We are now mindful of the downside of social media, but are poised to welcome a new technology into our most intimate lives: generative AI and the world of chatbots. And I’m so pleased that @jonathanhaidt’s blog After Babel has published my new introduction — a warning about this new technological experiment. Haidt calls me our “new Neil Postman” and that made me so very happy. Link in bio to read it.

Chatbots are a new edition to the world of what I’ve called relational artifacts — AI objects that don’t just announce themselves as smart, but claim that they care. From decades of study of relational artifacts, I’ve learned that we nurture what we love but we love what we nurture. So, we are vulnerable to chatbots — purveyors of pretend empathy. I am nearing completion of a new book on artificial intimacy and I’ve seen how vulnerable we are to these performances. Pretend empathy can become empathy enough. But the performance of emotion does not make machines more human. But it can challenge what people think makes them special Our human identity is something we need to reclaim for ourselves.

Are you talking to technology? If yes, we’re interested in talking to you! We are MIT researchers working to understand how using chatbots changes people’s experience of their work and family life. On the work side, we would like to talk to legal, medical, and IT professionals. On family life, we would like to talk to parents who use chatbots with their children, for reading, schoolwork, as a digital “buddy.” All conversations will be confidential; your anonymity will be protected. Please email aichatlife@gmail.com to be scheduled for an interview. We look forward to hearing from you!

The launch of AI for human flourishing was a day of great conversations! Thank you, @pattie.maes, @patpat.mit, and @mitmedialab. Link in bio to Forbes article about the event.

I am so looking forward to what promises to be a compelling day @mitmedialab. My most cherished colleagues across generations are participating. Learn more at link in bio.

I have joined Bluesky, please follow me at https://bsky.app/profile/sturkle.bsky.social. Link in bio.