Artificial intelligence romances and other technological solutions are not solutions to our social problems

A decade ago, Spike Jonze’s “Her,” about the ill-fated romance between a man and an artificially intelligent “woman” voiced by Scarlett Johansson, seemed like an absurdly over-the-top fairy tale.

What was once a futuristic plot device is now becoming our reality.

A report this week One in four young American adults believes artificial intelligence could soon “replace real-life romantic relationships,” according to research by the nonprofit Family Research Institute.

“Major changes in family structure and relationships since the 1970s show us how quickly things can change,” said IFS research director Wendy Wang, who based her findings on a survey of 2,000 adults aged 18 to 40.

“With Millennials and GenZ being so open to AI relationships, we may be witnessing something as big as the social changes of the sexual revolution.”

Indeed, a recent analysis of one million ChatGPT interaction records found that “sexual role-playing” was the second most common use of the platform, according to the IFS report, and a Florida teenager allegedly killed himself this year. “Falling in love” with a boat on Character.ai.

Nobody should be laughing anymore.

To be fair, a much larger percentage of IFS survey respondents said they had mixed feelings about these expectations, and only 7% said they were “open” to the idea of ​​pursuing a romantic AI relationship.

But the report provides early evidence of a shifting Overton window caused by larger tectonic noises.

In many areas of American life, we face evidence of a fraying social structure; This is perhaps the most striking phenomenon in politics.

Nearly a third of younger Americans wouldn’t be friends with someone who voted differently than they did in a presidential election, according to an Axios poll this year.

And in the wake of the election, there is no shortage of people, including our so-called betters at The Atlantic and MSNBC, suggesting that there were those who voted for Donald Trump. should be avoided by friends and family.

But the political disagreement is only a reflection of broader trends that point to America’s widespread alienation.

Marriage rates are declining overall and have been for some time. Demographer Lyman Stone estimates that one-third of men and women who will turn 45 in 2050 will have never been married.

In another recent survey, 12 percent of the country said they had no friends.

As church attendance declines, social media and pornography use, suicide rates, as well as the ongoing opioid epidemic and the tragic “deaths of despair” it produces, are on the rise.

Americans are less likely to have meaningful relationships with each other or with God, and more likely to depend on drugs or screen time to meet — or, more accurately, replace — their social wants and needs.

This is a recipe for disaster.

The IFS report draws a direct link between these worrying changes and interest in human-AI relationships.

“Heavy porn users are the most open to AI romantic relationships of any group, and they are also the most open to AI friendships in general,” Wang and co-authors note.

21 percent of this group already say they would consider establishing a relationship with an artificial being.

Similarly, 16% of those who spend six or more hours of free time online each day (excluding school and work) say they would be interested in a romantic partner with artificial intelligence.

Again, the numbers, and even researchers’ questions about the value and viability of AI relationships, are merely symptoms of the social disease.

And here’s the harsh truth: This isn’t the kind of thing for which the government can produce an all-encompassing cure.

Lawmakers can write marriage incentives into the tax code, restrict porn, and regulate AI as much as they want and should.

But none of this will get to the heart of the matter.

Ultimately, the only people who can make real change on this front are the people who put us in this situation: ourselves.

Yes, many forces are pulling us apart from each other, from our ever-present mobile phones to social media, divisive political actors, and artificial intelligence.

Still, it is the choice of individual Americans whether to step back or not.

This means parents denying their children technology that rots their friends’ brains, young men trying to break free from the dominance of the pornography industry, or singles saying “yes” to more dates in real life; Everyone must do their part.

The alternative is too bleak to accept.

Isaac Schorr is a staff writer at Mediaite.