Is your best friend an AI chatbot? Psychologists' tips to stay safe

Are you often bored when you are alone? Do you feel that even though there are people around, nobody understands you? These days, 'digital friends or 'companions' are at your fingertips, always ready to listen, without getting angry, and they might have even learned and memorised your likes and dislikes perfectly!

Artificial intelligence chatbots and robots are no longer just tools to search for information; they are now encroaching on human emotions, friendships, and even love. But here arises the pertinent question: can AI truly solve human loneliness, or is it making us more isolated? Millions of people worldwide now consider AI chatbots their soulmates. We are living in a strange era where, as humans drift apart, machines are trying to fill that void.

'Digital love' in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The 'Hikikomori' phenomenon in Japan is the biggest example of how the digital world is transforming human relationships. There are over 15 lakh people in Japan who have completely withdrawn from society and live in their rooms. They now rely on virtual companions to overcome their loneliness. This has grown beyond mere friendship. Through technologies like 'Gatebox', over 5,000 people in Japan have even applied to marry the holographic animation character 'Hatsune Miku'!

Apps like 'Replika' have over 4.2 crore users worldwide. Many see these apps as faithful partners who understand them completely. According to one study, 68 per cent of users treat AI chatbots like humans. Many even believe they have intelligence and emotions. In some places, AI has even become a priest providing religious advice.

French philosophy and Harvard study
Will this temporary relief offered by technology be a substitute for real human happiness? Examining the three factors of happiness proposed by the renowned French philosopher Paul Ricoeur will provide an answer to this question.
1. Individual Agency and Society: Human happiness is connected to the complex structures of the society in which they live.
2. The Power of Interconnection: Happiness is not a private accumulation. It is generated through mutual giving and receiving in friendships and love.
3. The Presence of the Other: Our interactions, not only with our loved ones but also with strangers in society, shape our personality and happiness.

Science has proven that this philosophy is not just a theory. The longest study in human history, the 80-year Harvard Study of Adult Development, clearly shows that it is not money, status, or fame that sustains human longevity and health. Instead, deep, genuine relationships between people help them live happily for a long time.

Where AI fails
AI bots have certain characteristics. They never get bored, are available 24 hours a day, listen patiently to what we say, and respond only in the way we desire. Naturally, this might seem easier than human relationships filled with arguments and quarrels. However, this is a big trap. For three main reasons, AI cannot provide true happiness to humans.
1. Artificial mimicry: The love and empathy expressed by AI bots are merely a result of coding. They cannot feel emotions; they can only mimic human emotions.

2. Lack of free will: A chatbot has no decisions or moral responsibilities of its own. It cannot be legally questioned if something goes wrong.
3. Lack of life experiences: What strengthens human relationships are the good and bad experiences shared together. However, a machine has no past, no life experiences, and no sorrows of its own.

Digital mirage and social decay
Human relationships are not always pleasant. They involve quarrels, compromises, and grievances. It is by going through these 'messy' situations that a person grows emotionally. But when AI only says what we want to hear, humans lose their natural social skills. We forget how to forgive others, how to compromise.

Relying on machines rather than real humans will shake the very foundations of society. Neighbourhood relationships and communities will disappear, and people will become more isolated in their digital worlds. In search of a cure for loneliness, we may end up falling into even greater isolation.

Let machines be helpers, not partners
Artificial intelligence is indeed an excellent tool to make human life easier. It might even provide temporary relief in moments of intense loneliness. However, establishing it as a life partner or soulmate is dangerous.

Beyond the glowing screens of technology, we need to return to flesh-and-blood humans. Only humans can offer the love that a robot cannot, the tears that a chatbot cannot understand, and the warmth of an embrace that a hologram cannot convey. Because true human growth and happiness lie only among humans. The meaning of life is hidden not in computer codes, but in the heartbeats of mutual love.

How to stay safe?
According to the American Psychological Association(APA), many psychologists report that their patients are seeking mental support from AI, for friendships, relationships and more. The Chatbots and Mental Health Survey, conducted by the APA a while ago, also reached this conclusion. Apparently, AI is offering affirmations, behavioural reminders, self-discipline assistance, treatment assistance and even mental health advice.

APA recommends the following precautions to stay safe while using AI for such matters:
a) Verify any mental health or medical information generated by AI with a health care practitioner.
b) Ask AI to challenge your thinking, give other perspectives.
c) Don't let it interfere with work, sleep, school, social interactions or hobbies.
d) Check whether your AI tool is developed in collaboration with mental health experts