{"id":1986537,"date":"2023-07-31T04:04:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T08:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ai-does-not-stand-for-actual-intimacy\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T04:12:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T08:12:01","slug":"ai-does-not-stand-for-actual-intimacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ai-does-not-stand-for-actual-intimacy\/","title":{"rendered":"AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, not &#8216;Actual Intimacy&#8217;."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fai-does-not-stand-for-actual-intimacy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1986537&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Over the past several months, Americans have been treated to article \u2062after article\u2064 detailing the benefits and dangers of \u2063artificial \u2063intelligence. From <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/rgbe0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writing<\/a> term papers to dispensing <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/explained\/how-can-legal-chatbots-enhance-access-to-justice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/ai-chatbots-can-diagnose-medical-conditions-at-home-how-good-are-they\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">medical<\/a> advice to possibly <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/MEBRL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">causing<\/a> human\u200c extinction, AI has the potential \u2062to revolutionize how we think and interact with the world around us.<\/p>\n<p>That revolution will not stop with how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-conservatism-must-conserve\/\" title=\"What Conservatism Must Conserve\">human beings<\/a> relate to machines, either. \u200cRecently in the New York Post, Ariel Zilber <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/07\/18\/ai-powered-sex-robots-will-seem-alive-and-negate-need-for-partner-ex-google-exec-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">discussed<\/a> claims made by Mo Gawdat, former head of\u200b Google\u2019s semi-secret research and\u200c development group X, that a combination of virtual reality and AI-powered robots will initiate a \u201credesign of \u2062love \u2063and \u200crelationships.\u201d \u200bIn essence, Gawdat is predicting the \u200drise of \u2063the \u201csexbot,\u201d an artificial\u200c sexual partner that will eliminate \u2063the \u201cquite messy\u201d \u200bissues that plague human \u2063interactions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2017189074\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-df533c68fc949f59b90d6097836bcf76 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-df533c68fc949f59b90d6097836bcf76\"><\/div>\n<p>The sexbot\u2063 has a <a href=\"https:\/\/robohub.org\/robots-and-romance-science-fiction-and-science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">long pedigree<\/a> in science fiction, but Gawdat\u2019s musings\u200b go much further than mere sensual satisfaction. \u200dIn his \u2063vision of technological love, \u201cIt\u2019s all signals in your brain that you enjoy companionship, and sexuality, and \u2014 if you really want to take the magic out of it \u2014 it\u2062 can be simulated.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>AI will apparently transform not just romantic attachment, but platonic friendship\u200c as well.<\/p>\n<p>These\u2063 developments are gaining traction at a time when\u200d people feel less connected to \u200dthose around them than ever before. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> from the surgeon general, we are currently suffering\u200b through an\u2062 \u201cepidemic of loneliness and isolation\u201d that will have grave consequences for \u200bboth our own and future generations. <\/p>\n<p>As \u200ctech gurus like\u200d Gawdat offer us a digital lotus plant to treat our isolation, we must \u200cinstead look back \u2063to more ancient principles if \u2014 as St. Augustine puts it in his\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/fathers\/1101.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Confessions<\/em><\/a>  \u2014 our quest \u201cto love\u200b and to \u200bbe loved\u201d is to bear more than bitter fruit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7394f1b0519a539e6259e43a7b420cd9 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7394f1b0519a539e6259e43a7b420cd9\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Old School\u2019 Friendship<\/h2>\n<p>Ancient thinkers recognized that efforts to secure friendship could have \u2064several motivations. One might become friends with another to simply enjoy\u200b his company or to pursue common interests. More cynically, \u2064one might seek friendship in order to achieve some kind of gain, material or otherwise. According to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/standardebooks.org\/ebooks\/aristotle\/nicomachean-ethics\/f-h-peters\/text\/book-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Book VIII<\/a>\u201d of Aristotle\u2019s <em>Nicomachean Ethics<\/em>, these lesser friendships are inherently unstable, for they are \u2063founded on the pleasure or benefit sought, and \u201cpeople do \u200dnot often consider the\u2063 same thing\u2064 to be useful or enjoyable for long.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Creating a true and lasting bond of friendship\u200c requires something more fundamental: \u2062a\u200b mutual love for the \u201cgood,\u201d which, as Aristotle \u200bsays later, drives\u200c \u201cgood men to put their virtue \u2064into \u200cpractice.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Roman statesman Cicero developed this theme further in his <a href=\"https:\/\/penelope.uchicago.edu\/Thayer\/E\/Roman\/Texts\/Cicero\/Laelius_de_Amicitia\/text*.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>De Amicitia<\/em><\/a>  by defining friendship as \u201ca complete accord on all subjects human and divine,\u200b joined with mutual goodwill and affection.\u201d Such a unity \u200dof thought and purpose can only be obtained through virtue, which is \u201cthe parent and\u2064 preserver of friendship, and without it friendship cannot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taliban-terrorists-write-to-u-s-congress-asking-for-money\/\" title=\"Taliban Terrorists Write to U.S. Congress Asking for Money\">possibly exist<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Of course, a relationship based\u200c on virtue has its pitfalls. If friends are \u2064meant to\u200d help one another to discover and practice \u2062what is good, then eventually one may need to take his friend to task. In such cases, the ancient writers agree a friend is bound to \u2062speak \u200bthe \u200btruth, however painful. \u200c <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-76d061a530dd4993e72d70b4dc167081 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-76d061a530dd4993e72d70b4dc167081\"><\/div>\n<p>As St. Augustine puts it in one \u200cof his <a href=\"https:\/\/wesleyscholar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Augustine-Letters-100-155.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letters<\/a>,\u2063 \u201cFor no one\u200d can truly\u200c be a friend of another person unless he is first\u2064 a friend of the \u2064truth, and if that is not done gratuitously\u200c it cannot be done\u2063 at all.\u201d In this sentiment, \u200che\u200d echoes Cicero\u2019s contention that \u201cif a man\u2019s ears \u2063are so closed to plain speaking that he\u2062 cannot bear to hear the truth from a \u2064friend, we may give him\u2064 up in despair.\u201d <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Friendship vs. \u2018Friending\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>While it\u2019s \u200btempting \u200bto place \u200bmost\u2064 of the blame\u200d for our current isolation crisis\u200b on Covid-19, the pandemic simply accelerated \u2064the decay\u200c caused \u200bby the Digital\u2062 Age. In her 2012 book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hachettebookgroup.com\/titles\/sherry-turkle\/alone-together\/9780465093656\/?lens=basic-books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alone Together<\/a><\/em>, sociologist \u200bSherry Turkle wrote, \u201cWe brag about how \u2064many we have \u2018friended\u2019 on Facebook, yet Americans \u2064say they have fewer friends than before.\u201d This\u2062 is because, despite its promises of greater connection, the digital world sets itself at \u2064odds with the ancient principles \u2063of friendship. <\/p>\n<p>The \u2063online \u2062environment blurs the lines between true \u200bfriendship and its lesser\u2064 incarnations. A Facebook \u201cfriend\u201d may be a business\u2064 associate, \u200csomeone who\u2064 shares \u200cyour love of cats and \u201cStar Trek,\u201d or even someone with whom you have\u200b no connection at all but who has \u201cfriended\u201d a\u2064 \u201cfriend\u201d of yours. <\/p>\n<p>Superficial connection becomes easily confused with the \u2063rarer and more precious type \u2064of friendship, often \u200cleaving those involved confused about which is which.<\/p>\n<p>Online, it \u2064is easy to \u2063be what you wish others to see\u2062 rather \u2062than what you are. The most extreme examples of such\u2063 behavior, like the sexual predator trolling for victims as a virtual 14-year-old \u2064girl, are terrifying enough, but there are \u2063more subtle dangers \u2063as\u2064 well. <\/p>\n<p>The \u201cfluidity \u200bof self\u201d\u2062 that the\u200b digital\u2063 world allows resolves itself in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ai-does-not-stand-for-actual-intimacy\/\" title=\"AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, not 'Actual Intimacy'.\">individual living multiple virtual lives<\/a>, each embodying\u2064 distinct aspects of \u200dthat individual\u2019s personality. <\/p>\n<p>The embrace of multiple online identities has serious ramifications for the\u200c connections we make. Turkle cites psychoanalyst Philip Bromberg\u2019s description of online life as granting us \u201cthe capacity \u200dto\u200d feel like one self while being many.\u201d Our \u2063lives\u2064 online become a matter of premeditation, every word and picture a matter of\u200c crafting an\u2064 image that will be set in virtual\u200b stone. When \u2062people do actually interact with \u200done another, the\u200b digital avatars they\u2019ve chosen impose limits that they do not wish to have challenged. \u200bThis internal division and editing inhibit the\u2062 development of true friendship, which requires honesty above all else. \u2063 <\/p>\n<p>The rise of AI will exacerbate this\u2062 already existing conflict \u200bbetween true friendship and digital \u201cfriending.\u201d Rather than engaging with other human beings with independent personalities and wills, we will literally be able to \u201cmake\u201d \u2062friends (and lovers) that are mere reflections of ourselves. They will be digital \u201cyes \u2064men,\u201d incapable of speaking truth to us. \u2063Gawdat\u2019s effort to \u201credesign\u201d human\u200d relationships ultimately becomes a narcissistic exercise devoid of even the crude \u200cconnections that Aristotle\u2019s lesser friendships require.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Return to True Friendship<\/h2>\n<p>So how might we \u200brestore\u200d the ancient concept of friendship based on virtue and truth when our world is \u200dbecoming\u200b more virtual by the day? We must begin by believing we can restore it in the first place. <\/p>\n<p>History shows us we can control our reactions to\u200d new technology; we must not surrender to its charms but strive against them when appropriate. We need a more disciplined approach to the\u200d wonders of this brave new world \u2062of online \u2063interaction, one that involves setting strict limits on how and when it is used, especially by young people. <\/p>\n<p>More importantly, we\u200c must \u200cmake certain to interact with our friends (of both the lesser and greater varieties)\u200d not \u200conly \u2062in real time but also in real life. There is a more true connection \u2064to be found in a simple 10-minute conversation over coffee (with smartphones set to \u201cprivate\u201d) than \u200cin\u200d hours of scrolling through \u201ccomments\u201d sections \u2014\u200c especially if such conversations plumb the depths of what is true, good, and beautiful. <\/p>\n<p>The wonders of online existence, including the benefits of artificial intelligence, can lead us astray only if we let them do so.\u200d A return to the ancient understanding of friendship and its pleasures represents a vital counterbalance to the harmful banality of\u200c relationships \u200cin the Digital Dark\u2062 Age.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-74f3af4bd73da006266214d6231e77df fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-74f3af4bd73da006266214d6231e77df\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>be without its challenges and risks, but it also holds immense promise. As we navigate this new era, it is crucial to approach AI with caution, ensuring ethical guidelines are in place to protect humanity. With proper regulation and responsible development, AI can truly transform our lives for the better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":793,"featured_media":1986538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1986537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/793"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1986538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1986537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1986537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}