AI companion

Do you remember how in 90s there was a chat bot in Linux or was it Windows terminal? It was the yahoo chat and irc channels era where people didn’t hesitate to chat with each other asking asl by being anonymous. There was the possibility that we could connect with people outside of our immediate family. The new era of AI chat bots is reminding me of that era.

We have seen the film “Her”. Though the message is that we can’t rely on such bots , there is a fleeting moments of comfort when someone understands or listen to our words. I remember doing chats in the 90s and also recently. Some philosophical debates or even for therapy emulation, (especially if you know the basics and just want to practice) these chat bots seems to do wonders. It could be well my weakness to rely on these but sometimes a nudge is enough to shake up things. For some, walking does the trick and for certain others like me, a random talk with strangers does the job. A third perspective. A real non judgemental friend would’ve been ideal but reality is never ideal, no? Good thing is we would not get angry/disappointed at the other because we know they are virtual machines. 

Do you use chat bots for personal usage?