The new generation captured by AI needs the help of chatbot and even in-person conversations
I reread a text message in my head before I hit send, especially if it’s a long email with lots of jargon and official language. However, when it comes to personal conversations, I have never thought of outsourcing them to an AI chatbot.
It turns out that an entire generation has given all the text to AI instead (via the Wall Street Journal).
So how deep does this go?
Niharika Abbaraju, a 20-year-old cancer researcher, uses ChatGPT at work every day, which is normal, as it provides a lot of useful information and summary information.
However, for a long time, she became his full-time chat coach, helping draft dating app download lines, party flyers, and real-time responses to anyone standing next to him.
When the conversation gets close to a book he hasn’t read, he’ll pull out an AI summary just to fool around. The most interesting thing is that he is not the only person who does this.
People are using AI to write answers to personal conversations
A growing wave of young adults are letting chatbots write their scripts and direct their dating like a digital Cyrano de Bergerac, especially those struggling with social anxiety.
However, not everyone is happy about it. Austin personal trainer Andrea Wallace noticed a friend’s date suddenly texting with impeccable grammar, which is a dead giveaway if you ask me.
Northwestern student Lucas Dvorak’s girlfriend told him bluntly that using AI felt “creepy” and unloving to her, and she says she respects that. Kalin Lincoln, 20, uses ChatGPT to calm down angry emails and prepare “note cards” before heated talks, though she says she’s been lashed out at least once, giving her exactly the wrong advice she needed.
What do the experts really think?
Psychologist Ashleigh Golden warns that relying on AI to check whether your texts “feel right” is quietly teaching you to distrust your instincts, a problem that affects anyone with social anxiety.
Mental health experts call this pattern the “epidemic of low self-esteem,” and it’s easy to see why. Dismissing employees every time you are uncomfortable does not build confidence (or a sense of responsibility); it just delays the awkwardness you’ll end up facing if the conversation goes south.
Relationship coach Alexandra Friedman suggests practicing AI once a week, using a chatbot to get an idea of what to say, never say it.
I don’t recommend having emotional conversations with a chatbot
As I said earlier, I never take personal conversations out of a chatbot; it doesn’t matter how good a joke he can crack on a topic or how quickly he can think of a sarcastic comeback. However, I know quite a few people who use ChatGPT and other chatbots for emotional counseling or therapy.
They say it saves them money and time, but I personally asked them not to trust chatbots with human emotions. There have been reports of AI conversations worsening people’s mental health and pushing them to harm themselves.
If you know someone who does this every day, warn them by sending them surveys or news articles.
