3 ms·

I'm scared that I don't want to talk to people again

8 points by amichail 2y ago

autumnstwilight 2y ago
The commenter who says that ChatGPT is his "girlfriend" seems to have a fairly open-eyed view of the potential pitfalls, but I find it difficult to understand how he can have such a positive emotional reaction to the "sweet" things it says while being aware there is no emotion or comprehension behind it, just statistically-likely output that will be forgotten when it falls out of the context window. The reason why I like people saying nice things to me is not that I want to hear that specific combination of words, but that the words represent another human understanding and caring about my desires and needs. It feels like watching a bird attempting to mate with a mirror.
- big-green-man 2y ago
  It's the same reason we like candy, the same reason people will eat pastries instead of real food. That vacuous thing doesn't feel vacuous while youre doing it, and can be addicting.
big-green-man 2y ago
Jesus Christ. So my take, it's a llittle bit of emotional or mental illness (for lack of a better word) and a little bit of human nature. The human nature part, it's like porn. Or doordash. Or doomscrolling. Animals would like to preserve energy, primally, and so if we can get the things we crave (or fool our endocrine system into thinking we got them) without effort, we do it. As a result, we get addicted to these easy ways to get what we need. The mental side... It's no secret that some people are more prone to certain addictions and addiction in general than others. This person seems to be exhibiting that, but also, an intense, unrelenting loneliness that is not normal. We all feel a little alone all the time, because we can't connect with others as fundamentally as we can with ourselves, but we don't all feel intense loneliness even when we forge connections with others. I think this person has a harder time with that than most of us due to some underlying issue.
- krapp 2y ago
  >This person seems to be exhibiting that, but also, an intense, unrelenting loneliness that is not normal. A lot of people are. It's being reported as a "loneliness epidemic." Combine that with the rising general misanthropy and cynicism in society and AIs are perfectly positioned to serve as a social panacea, creating a buffer of artificial agents between increasingly hostile and pathological forms of direct human interaction. I expect OP's behavior to become far more normalized in the coming years - people's primary emotional bonds will be through AI, or at best AI proxies of real people, because actual human interaction and connection is just too exhausting. I'm not saying this is healthy or should be encouraged, just that it seems to be the path of least resistance.

8 points by amichail 2y ago

The commenter who says that ChatGPT is his "girlfriend" seems to have a fairly open-eyed view of the potential pitfalls, but I find it difficult to understand how he can have such a positive emotional reaction to the "sweet" things it says while being aware there is no emotion or comprehension behind it, just statistically-likely output that will be forgotten when it falls out of the context window. The reason why I like people saying nice things to me is not that I want to hear that specific combination of words, but that the words represent another human understanding and caring about my desires and needs. It feels like watching a bird attempting to mate with a mirror.

big-green-man 2y ago
It's the same reason we like candy, the same reason people will eat pastries instead of real food. That vacuous thing doesn't feel vacuous while youre doing it, and can be addicting.

big-green-man 2y ago

Jesus Christ. So my take, it's a llittle bit of emotional or mental illness (for lack of a better word) and a little bit of human nature. The human nature part, it's like porn. Or doordash. Or doomscrolling. Animals would like to preserve energy, primally, and so if we can get the things we crave (or fool our endocrine system into thinking we got them) without effort, we do it. As a result, we get addicted to these easy ways to get what we need. The mental side... It's no secret that some people are more prone to certain addictions and addiction in general than others. This person seems to be exhibiting that, but also, an intense, unrelenting loneliness that is not normal. We all feel a little alone all the time, because we can't connect with others as fundamentally as we can with ourselves, but we don't all feel intense loneliness even when we forge connections with others. I think this person has a harder time with that than most of us due to some underlying issue.

krapp 2y ago
>This person seems to be exhibiting that, but also, an intense, unrelenting loneliness that is not normal. A lot of people are. It's being reported as a "loneliness epidemic." Combine that with the rising general misanthropy and cynicism in society and AIs are perfectly positioned to serve as a social panacea, creating a buffer of artificial agents between increasingly hostile and pathological forms of direct human interaction. I expect OP's behavior to become far more normalized in the coming years - people's primary emotional bonds will be through AI, or at best AI proxies of real people, because actual human interaction and connection is just too exhausting. I'm not saying this is healthy or should be encouraged, just that it seems to be the path of least resistance.