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We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

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Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#41

Post by andrepd »

WHA8m wrote: post #22
redserk wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is worth calling out how expensive it can be to go out and do things now though. $10-12 beers and $15 cocktails gets expensive over a few weekends.

Sure, but kids don't drink as much these days anyways anymore. At least in Germany, and we have drinking at 16 year old. I'm not at the age, but I wouldn't know an alternative to hang out at weekends. I mean, I do, but I can't think of a popular alternative. In my teen years people already haven't had any hobbies. With social media this surely has gotten worse.

It would be nice if there were more non-commercial activities/spaces available... which there are fewer and fewer.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#42

Post by phendrenad2 »

I wouldn't worry about AI solving loneliness any time soon. AI right now feels empty, like a facade with no depth. AI will tell you what it thinks you want to hear, but it can't remember a conversation you had last week (and even if it sticks a summary of your conversations into the pre-prompt, it has no sense of importance and will probably overwrite your darkest secret with your favorite cocktail recipe if it runs out of space).

This "hollowness" is something I intimately understand as someone who used to play hundreds of hours of single-player RPG games. You can make-believe that this world is real, and it works for awhile, but you eventually exhaust this willpower and the lack of real depth eventually crashes into your world. Then I turn off the games and go walk around the mall, just to see humans doing human things again. I feel remarkably better after that.

Maybe we need AI as matchmaker and Master of Ceremonies, introducing people to each other and hyping them up to actually engage with one another.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#43

Post by 0points »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #3

I've been of the opinion that the web itself has already done this to a large degree. Web surfing (when is the last time you heard that phrase?) has never been a group activity.

> Web surfing (when is the last time you heard that phrase?) has never been a group activity.

You must have missed the 90s chat rooms we visited while in school, or even the more recent chat roulette in 2010.

Heck, even geocaching is a web surfing group activity.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#44

Post by nathan_compton »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #38
cedws wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s also doomscrolling. I genuinely think a large portion of Gen Z would rather stay in bed watching Instagram reels than go out to a bar or club. I’ve been wondering recently what impact banning social media would have on birth rates. I’m confident it would be positive but I’m not sure on what magnitude.

>I’ve been wondering recently what impact banning social media would have on birth rates. I’m confident it would be positive but I’m not sure on what magnitude. Sex is decoupled from birth rates, due to access to 100% effective birth control (IUD/morning after pill/abortion). Hence there is no reason to think it would have any positive effect. I would be surprised if even a single person I know had had an unplanned k…

> due to access to 100% effective birth control

This doesn't really track. People still get pregnant accidentally all the time. And people also still decide to have babies on purpose if they meet someone they like. Social media may be screwing up the latter process somewhat and getting rid of it could improve birth rates.

Birth Control isn't the whole problem. I would argue its not part of the problem at all - if people are choosing to not have kids, you don't have a birth control problem, you have a society problem. Unless you just think more human agency is bad? Seems like a weird take to me.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#45

Post by 0points »

somenameforme wrote: post #11
Retr0id wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Web surfing has never been a group activity. It often was, in my childhood. There was only one computer.

Mine as well. Trolling pedos on AOL who thought they were meeting up with teen girls was our past time. We got quite good at looking up locations, organizing places to meet, and more. We were Chris Hansen, in bored teen boys form. Ah the days of A/S/L.

I was a teen meeting real girls from IRC.

Guess you missed out on the S part.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#46

Post by nathan_compton »

xandrius wrote: post #29
markus_zhang wrote: post #20

Loneliness is a benefit, not a curse. I need some degree of loneliness to keep sane. But it would be very interesting if a beautiful AI companion can teach me Math and Physics. I wonder when they will be able to do that, and with what kind of cost?

Loneliness is not mere solitude. Loneliness is not being happy with being alone, solitude is the state of being alone. I couldn't find a word for specifically being happy about it. So, loneliness is intrinsically negative, otherwise one wouldn't feel that way.

Having some intrinsically negative experiences is good, arguably.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#47

Post by anton-c »

cedws wrote: post #9
JKCalhoun wrote: post #3

I've been of the opinion that the web itself has already done this to a large degree. Web surfing (when is the last time you heard that phrase?) has never been a group activity.

There’s also doomscrolling. I genuinely think a large portion of Gen Z would rather stay in bed watching Instagram reels than go out to a bar or club. I’ve been wondering recently what impact banning social media would have on birth rates. I’m confident it would be positive but I’m not sure on what magnitude.

Not gen z but I just don't drink(i worked in clubs and didnt like that scene either). I think there's a growing portion of gen z that is like that if I recall what I've read correctly. They drink less.

I genuinely don't know what to do in my smaller suburb where the verbs aren't "look" "eat" or "drink". I wanna do. Museums are mostly boring to me, there's little interaction. I don't meet people at the library or gym. The volunteer things ive done had a weird gap where younger people and older people have more free time than middle aged workers and parents so I had few peers at those too.

I'm open to any and all ideas. Feels like things never truly changed back after covid as far as community events and social opportunities.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#48

Post by macleginn »

The article is laudably nuanced but in the end a bit all over the place. The worst types of loneliness are, is it points out, are usually reserved for the elderly; who also dominate suicide stats in many places. If AIs help them make their lives more tolerable, that’s a clear win. As for the folks with a choice, the prevalence of AI companions will likely be directly proportional to the quality of choices available. As often with tech in general, when it steps in to fill a societal void, it’s up to the wider society to make things better.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#49

Post by lotsofpulp »

nathan_compton wrote: post #44
lotsofpulp wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I’ve been wondering recently what impact banning social media would have on birth rates. I’m confident it would be positive but I’m not sure on what magnitude. Sex is decoupled from birth rates, due to access to 100% effective birth control (IUD/morning after pill/abortion). Hence there is no reason to think it would have any positive effect. I would be surprised if even a single person I know had had an unplanned k…

> due to access to 100% effective birth control This doesn't really track. People still get pregnant accidentally all the time. And people also still decide to have babies on purpose if they meet someone they like. Social media may be screwing up the latter process somewhat and getting rid of it could improve birth rates. Birth Control isn't the whole problem. I would argue its not part of the problem at all - if peo…

Upon second read, I may have misinterpreted the comment. I assumed cedws meant birth rate increasing from one night stands due to going out to bars or clubs, but they may have meant increased chances of forming relationships.

But that didn’t occur to me, since as far as I know, pretty much all relationships don’t happen like that anymore, and are usually planned prior to going out using dating apps or other personal networks. In which case, it’s not just instagram reels that would have to be gotten rid of, but also matchmaking services.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#50

Post by BaseBaal »

nathan_compton wrote: post #18

The idea that AI is going to "solve" loneliness is so insane. Even the framing of the idea is insane, in my opinion. Loneliness is not really about having someone to exchange words with, fundamentally. It is about being validated by other human beings or entities. At a most fundamental level the AI doesn't have a choice except to appear to validate you and this lack of freedom, the fact that you do not win over the A…

Robots used in care homes for elderly people may help with loneliness, especially for those with no family or friends that visit.
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