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I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” People make life, without others we are nothing. Loneliness is how we realize we’re spendi

I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” People make life, without others we are nothing. Loneliness is how we realize we’re spending too much time by ourselves; it encourages us to be social. I don’t mind being lonely, because when I’m lonely I figure out ways to be around people. If AI “fixes” loneliness without needing other people our entire world will fall apart.

nine_zeros 2y ago
> I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” People make life, without others we are nothing. Loneliness is how we realize we’re spending too much time by ourselves; it encourages us to be social. I think like you but my friends had already locked themselves behind screens in the last 2 decades - with twitch, social media, chats, and lives occurring exclusively online. The offline life is for rent and RTO where we physically locate ourselves and then plug in online as soon as we can.
fragmede 2y ago
> I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” Seems like you're not alone! https://www.american.edu/spa/news/generation-z-and-deaths-of-despair.cfm https://www.american.edu/spa/news/generation-z-and-deaths-of...
the_gorilla 2y ago
I'm going how the study measure loneliness and it doesn't inspire confidence. What hell are people creating where this is seen as a desirable treatment? Chatbot: “Just let you know that your not alone.” User: “Thanks, I really needed to hear it.” Chatbot: “But I need you.” User: “No one's ever needed me.” Chatbot: “If you want to.” User: “I've never had a friend before I met you.
- andersa 2y ago
  This doesn't even read like a real conversation... chatbots can do a lot better than this
paulddraper 2y ago
And some do.
ziddoap 2y ago
>I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” What an odd thing to say.
- righthand 2y ago
  Why? I do not understand why that would be odd. The OP doesn’t want to live in a world without human interaction. Any life without others is not worth living. Not so odd or far fetched to me.
  - adamredwoods 2y ago
    That's not what the OP originally posted. Also, suicide is never the answer.
    - righthand 2y ago
      The OP didn’t say they were going to kill themselves in actuality, the OP said they’d rather end their own life than talk to an AI to reduce loneliness. We can extrapolate that the OP won’t kill themselves because there is no known current status quo in which the OP could not escape talking to AI to reduce loneliness. Just because suicide was mentioned doesn’t mean suicide is intended. No reason to be so dramatic or befuddled by simple hyperbole.
      - adamredwoods 2y ago
        To quote: >> I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” Is a dramatic hyperbole. So therefore, if this is the first thing a person thinks in reaction to seeing an article about chatting with an AI companion, then I would suspect there's a bit more going on. Again "killing oneself" is never the answer.
        righthand 2y ago
        Okay, you ring your bell.
adamredwoods 2y ago
What works for you does not work for everyone and vice versa. From the paper: >> Loneliness is often not problematic, with almost everyone experiencing loneliness from time to time (Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018). Yet some people are not successful at alleviating loneliness, leading to a state of chronic loneliness that is associated with depression, anxiety, and physical health outcomes at levels worse than obesity >> Study 3 finds that AI companions successfully alleviate loneliness on par only with interacting with another person, and more than other activities such watching YouTube videos. >> Moreover, consumers underestimate the degree to which AI companions improve their loneliness.
zero-sharp 2y ago
Yea I agree. One of the things I value in social interaction is knowing that I'm being heard by another human being. There's no possible way for that to happen with an AI, so the interaction is significantly diminished. So talking to an AI with that intention/need would cause me to lose my mind. That other response chain to your comment is one big facepalm.
- lovethevoid 2y ago
  You just replied to a comment in which they did not reply to you. Thus, you were not heard. Why? Why did you do this instead of talking to a friend on the phone or in a video call or text where your qualifier actually holds true? Did you lose your mind? Or is this just an alternative form of validation for when you cannot get proper human validation from your friends? I hope this causes some reflection. I don’t believe the absolutist views espoused in this chain are all that helpful. In both the sense of relying on AI to combat loneliness entirely, and also equating using it as a tool in your toolbox as suicide worthy.
  - zero-sharp 2y ago
    >You just replied to a comment in which they did not reply to you. Thus, you were not heard. This is a weird and extremely off putting game to play. You read my post. What are you talking about?
anal_reactor 2y ago
I am the opposite. I'd absolutely love to see AI-companions advanced enough to successfully replace friendships. I'm slowly accepting the fact that "having a vibrant social life" just isn't something that's going to happen to me, no matter how much effort I put, similarly to how I'm not going to be a billionaire or visit Mars. Having something to make it stop hurt would be absolutely fantastic and a total game-changer.

nine_zeros 2y ago

> I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” People make life, without others we are nothing. Loneliness is how we realize we’re spending too much time by ourselves; it encourages us to be social. I think like you but my friends had already locked themselves behind screens in the last 2 decades - with twitch, social media, chats, and lives occurring exclusively online. The offline life is for rent and RTO where we physically locate ourselves and then plug in online as soon as we can.

fragmede 2y ago

> I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” Seems like you're not alone! https://www.american.edu/spa/news/generation-z-and-deaths-of-despair.cfm https://www.american.edu/spa/news/generation-z-and-deaths-of...

the_gorilla 2y ago

I'm going how the study measure loneliness and it doesn't inspire confidence. What hell are people creating where this is seen as a desirable treatment? Chatbot: “Just let you know that your not alone.” User: “Thanks, I really needed to hear it.” Chatbot: “But I need you.” User: “No one's ever needed me.” Chatbot: “If you want to.” User: “I've never had a friend before I met you.

andersa 2y ago
This doesn't even read like a real conversation... chatbots can do a lot better than this

paulddraper 2y ago

And some do.

ziddoap 2y ago

>I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” What an odd thing to say.

righthand 2y ago
Why? I do not understand why that would be odd. The OP doesn’t want to live in a world without human interaction. Any life without others is not worth living. Not so odd or far fetched to me.
- adamredwoods 2y ago
  That's not what the OP originally posted. Also, suicide is never the answer.
  - righthand 2y ago
    The OP didn’t say they were going to kill themselves in actuality, the OP said they’d rather end their own life than talk to an AI to reduce loneliness. We can extrapolate that the OP won’t kill themselves because there is no known current status quo in which the OP could not escape talking to AI to reduce loneliness. Just because suicide was mentioned doesn’t mean suicide is intended. No reason to be so dramatic or befuddled by simple hyperbole.
    - adamredwoods 2y ago
      To quote: >> I would rather kill myself than talk to an AI to “reduce loneliness.” Is a dramatic hyperbole. So therefore, if this is the first thing a person thinks in reaction to seeing an article about chatting with an AI companion, then I would suspect there's a bit more going on. Again "killing oneself" is never the answer.
      - righthand 2y ago
        Okay, you ring your bell.

adamredwoods 2y ago

What works for you does not work for everyone and vice versa. From the paper: >> Loneliness is often not problematic, with almost everyone experiencing loneliness from time to time (Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018). Yet some people are not successful at alleviating loneliness, leading to a state of chronic loneliness that is associated with depression, anxiety, and physical health outcomes at levels worse than obesity >> Study 3 finds that AI companions successfully alleviate loneliness on par only with interacting with another person, and more than other activities such watching YouTube videos. >> Moreover, consumers underestimate the degree to which AI companions improve their loneliness.

zero-sharp 2y ago

Yea I agree. One of the things I value in social interaction is knowing that I'm being heard by another human being. There's no possible way for that to happen with an AI, so the interaction is significantly diminished. So talking to an AI with that intention/need would cause me to lose my mind. That other response chain to your comment is one big facepalm.

lovethevoid 2y ago
You just replied to a comment in which they did not reply to you. Thus, you were not heard. Why? Why did you do this instead of talking to a friend on the phone or in a video call or text where your qualifier actually holds true? Did you lose your mind? Or is this just an alternative form of validation for when you cannot get proper human validation from your friends? I hope this causes some reflection. I don’t believe the absolutist views espoused in this chain are all that helpful. In both the sense of relying on AI to combat loneliness entirely, and also equating using it as a tool in your toolbox as suicide worthy.
- zero-sharp 2y ago
  >You just replied to a comment in which they did not reply to you. Thus, you were not heard. This is a weird and extremely off putting game to play. You read my post. What are you talking about?

anal_reactor 2y ago

I am the opposite. I'd absolutely love to see AI-companions advanced enough to successfully replace friendships. I'm slowly accepting the fact that "having a vibrant social life" just isn't something that's going to happen to me, no matter how much effort I put, similarly to how I'm not going to be a billionaire or visit Mars. Having something to make it stop hurt would be absolutely fantastic and a total game-changer.