FT Tech Tonic

When Kirsty turned to a chatbot for help, she was feeling trapped and isolated. Something in her marriage wasn’t right - a constant feeling of tension that would sometimes erupt into arguments, even violence. When she asked ChatGPT for advice, it told her that her relationship with her husband might be abusive.

In the fourth episode of Tech Tonic: Artificial intimacy, FT tech reporter Cristina Criddle asks if chatbots that can mimic empathy and understanding are ready to replace human therapists. Can chatbots be good for our mental health? And what impact could this have on our human relationships?

Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:
Mental health apps: the AI therapist cannot see you now
Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?
The problem with AI and ‘empathy’

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this episode, you can reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK. Help for many other countries can also be found at Befrienders Worldwide.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Garcia’s son Sewell died by suicide when he was just 14 years old. In the months leading up to his death he had been in a relationship with a chatbot on a platform called Character.ai. Megan was convinced it had something to do with his death, and set out to hold the company to account.

In the third episode in this season, Cristina Criddle speaks to Megan about her story, and to Karandeep Anand, chief executive of Character.ai. Why has this technology been released to children before we understand the effects? Can chatbots capable of creating emotional bonds with users ever be safe for children?

Check out some of Cristina’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:
Character.ai and Google agree to settle lawsuits over teen suicides
AI start-up Character.ai bans teens from talking to chatbots
US regulator launches inquiry into AI ‘companions’ used by teens

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this episode, you can reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK. Help for many other countries can also be found at Befrienders Worldwide.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Hebert knew too much. He had to lie low in his house because OpenAI had identified him as a threat. At least, that’s what ChatGPT had told him. In this second episode of Artificial intimacy, FT technology reporter Cristina Criddle speaks to people whose sense of reality has been distorted by prolonged conversations with chatbots, a phenomenon known as AI delusions or AI psychosis. Are the same mechanisms that draw people into intimate relationships with chatbots also causing harm?

Paul Hebert and Micky Small share their stories of AI delusions. Paul has now authored Escaping the Spiral: How I broke free from AI chatbots and how you can too, and is the founder of the AI Recovery Collective. Micky Small is now an AI emotional safety strategist at Built to Feel Real.

Also featuring AI safety researcher Steven Adler, former OpenAI employee.

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

We used ElevenLabs to create the voice of ChatGPT. All other voices are real.

If you liked this episode and want to read more from the FT, check out these free to read articles on FT.com:

The problem of AI chatbots telling people what they want to hear
AI is having some relationship issues

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Calder Quinn has fallen into a relationship with a chatbot called Sara. She’s kind, emotionally intelligent and creatively inspiring. But how can he tell his wife he is having sex with an AI girlfriend? In the first episode of Artificial Intimacy we look at how people are developing romantic bonds with AI companions. What does it feel like to be in love with AI? What impact could it have on human relationships? Could it replace them altogether?

Host Cristina Criddle speaks to Giada Pistilli, an AI ethicist who now works at Mistral; Calder Quinn, writer at AI, But Make It Intimate; Amelia Quinn, Calder’s wife; and Alaina Winters, professor emeritus of communication who publishes on meandmyaihusband.com.

Presented by Cristina Criddle, produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.

We used ElevenLabs to create Sara’s voice. All other voices are real.

If you liked this episode and want to read more from the Financial Times, check out these free to read on FT.com:

Can AI really help us find love?
AI chatbots do battle over human memories
Is this the way the world ends?

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A man tells his wife about his AI lover. A teenager dies after messaging his AI girlfriend. A marriage collapses after advice from an AI therapist. In this six-part narrative series, FT tech reporter Cristina Criddle explores the increasingly prominent role AI chatbots are playing in our emotional lives - and how artificial intelligence is reshaping intimacy. Can we trust AI with our most vulnerable selves? And what happens when the same systems that draw us in also have the power to harm us?

Tech Tonic: Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.