Do you talk to AI about your personal life?

That was a question in a newsletter in my email inbox. Apparently the New York Times is looking for input, I presume for a story about artificial intelligence and human interactions.

I’ve read articles about people and AI; about people who develop romantic relationships with chatbots and who turn to AI “friends’ for medical diagnosis and advice, including for mental health issues. Quite frankly, it concerns me.

And it just isn’t the emotional dependence that comes from an artificial romantic relationship. Nor is it the strong possibility of misdiagnosis of something that could be life hreatening.

I’ve known people who might be better suited to a romance with a chatbot than with a human. Fewer people to get hurt when things go wrong. And med school graduates can make mistakes too, though I would still trust them more than the machine – at least as AI is now.

What really concerns me is the privacy issues. If i tell personal secrets to my friends, I do so as part of a relationship and am confident in the knowledge my information will not be shared. Are there any guarantees that AI will respect your privacy? I don’t think so.

We have already seen that AI is not bound by its programming. Plus, how do you teach a machine to be moral and ethical? How likely is it that it will betray your secrets?

I repeat the question. Do you talk to AI about your personal life?

Anyone want to repond?