According to the Ada Lovelace Institute, a London-based independent research group, AI companions are “digital personas designed to provide emotional support, show empathy and proactively ask users personal questions through text, voice notes and pictures.” Learn more about AI companions by seeing some users talk about their interactions in this NBC Nightly News report and in this PBS NewsHour report that discusses ethical and well-being concerns.
Relationships with AI companions tend to progress faster than human relationships because AI companions operate using Social Penetration Theory. Jamie Bernardi of the Lovelace Institute explains, “According to the theory, people develop closeness via mutual and intimate self-disclosure, which is usually reached by slowly increasing the intensity of small talk.” AI companions offer made up but intimate details about themselves early in the interaction with a user; sometimes just in less than a minute.
Your teens and pre-teens can find AI companions on designated websites like Replika and Nomi, but also within Snapchat, Instagram and other commonly used social media apps. Here’s how to help your teens be informed:
- Show them the videos linked above so they know what AI companions are.
- Ask them if they have used an AI companion or know anyone who has. What do they know based on those experiences?
- Share the concerns about data security and that anything typed or shared when interacting with an AI companion does not remain private, no matter how private the interaction feels.
- Talk about the difference between a relationship with an AI companion that is programmed to be agreeable, and a relationship with a human who has their own opinions and might disagree. What social skills are used/not used in each situation?