Why Leaning on AI Friends Can Hurt People and Democracy

MIT professor Sherry Turkle warns in 'Artificial Intimacy' that turning to AI devices for comfort harms our well-being and democracy. Described in a Sept. 30 review and an Oct. 9 TechCrunch story, her point is that machines made to act like friends draw out our care, like a one-sided friendship, while we lose practice caring for real people.