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RE: Black Mirror Baby - The Rise of Replika
You may want to read about ELIZA program developed in 1970s as a conversation mimick tool. The developer noted that his secretary, who fully was aware of the nature of the program, began interacting with ELIZA as if she were speaking with a therapist. It may be that this little chatbot will further isolate human being from each other, reinforcing the ideological bubble in which we live currently.
Those whose opinions are challenged by reality will simply turn on their chatbot to reassure them that their opinions matter and are correct. This program may further destabilize the already fragile social cohesion.
I'll check out ELIZA, sounds interesting. There is something appealing about talking to a bot as it won't be judgemental, but after thinking about this some more, I am not sure I would want to try this unless I could be sure it was on a closed system in my home or couldn't be hacked. Of course, as long as it is on the net, it can be hacked, so out of the question for now.
I also see it as a mechanism of increasing social isolation if not used wisely, and we have seen just how wisely people use technology in general. The smombies are a case in point. Young people are already totally lost in their smartphones, but at least they share things with real people that they experience that way, but what happens when they can just "show" it to their chatbot to have the feeling of having shared it with someone?