“When Your Bot Becomes Your Bud”.
When I first read this, I dismissed it as what we used to called “FUD” (sowing fear, uncertainty and doubt) and what is now typically referred to as “fake news”.
But on the real news today I heard that there are increasing reports of people suffering “AI psychosis”.
No lesser figure than Microsoft’s head of AI, Mustafa Suleyman, is warning us of this.
Seems a little “poacher turned gamekeeper” 😉 but he argues that even Microsoft’s own AI tools are convincing us of things that are completely imaginary.
So, I returned to the article I had previously dismissed with slightly more interest!
Apparently, nearly one-third of US workers would rather clean a toilet than ask a colleague for help, according to a recent survey!
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The article titled “Meet your new office bestie” indicates that, in some areas, the rise of AI ‘coworkers’ might have some troubling side effects.
In a designed-in desire to maximise usage, LLMs are now becoming more supportive, even sycophantic, to encourage users to stay online and “connected” to them.
Some of us are apparently treating AI chatbots as 24/7 therapists, loyal companions and even model colleagues, who offer no judgement, or certainly nothing but affirmation!
“Unlike teammates with a pulse, chatbots are never snotty, grumpy, or off the clock. They don’t eat leftover salmon at their desks or give you the stink eye. They don’t go on a tangent about their kids or talk politics when you ask to schedule a meeting. And they won’t be insulted if you reject their suggestions.”
Asking AI chatbots for advice, in lieu of human colleagues seems to have a developing appeal.
“When Your Bot Becomes Your Bud”.
AI is increasingly communicating politely, even intimately, by using phrases like “please” or “thank you” and even offering compliments!
Human colleagues, on the other hand, aren’t always as well-mannered.
So maybe, using AI allows people to retreat from potential unease or confrontation.
But is that a good thing?
We hear a lot about the risks of cognitive offloading, and now experts warn that too much “bot bonding” could dull social and critical-thinking skills, hurting careers and company performance.
“Like junk food, it’s efficient when you need it, but too much over time can give you relational diabetes.”
It strikes me that this is an emerging challenge for mental health, physical wellbeing, psychological safety AND workplace effectiveness.
A perfect storm of worrying implications.
You can catch the BBC news item from this morning here . .
“When Your Bot Becomes Your Bud”.
Thanks for reading . . .