<description>Thanks to advances in AI, chatbots can act as personalized therapists, companions and romantic partners. The apps offering these services have been downloaded millions of times. If these relationships relieve stress and make us feel better, does it matter that they're not "real"?&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;On this episode, host Manoush Zomorodi talks to MIT sociologist and psychologist Sherry Turkle about her new research into what she calls "artificial intimacy" and its impact on our mental and physical health.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;em&gt;Binge the whole Body Electric series &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="http://npr.org/bodyelectric"&gt;&lt;em&gt;here&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;em&gt;Sign up for the Body Electric Challenge and our newsletter &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/body-electric"&gt;&lt;em&gt;here&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Talk to us on &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/manoushz/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Instagram&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; @ManoushZ, or record a voice memo and email it to us at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:BodyElectric@npr.org"&gt;&lt;em&gt;BodyElectric@npr.org&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Learn more about sponsor message choices: &lt;a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices"&gt;podcastchoices.com/adchoices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy"&gt;NPR Privacy Policy&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Body Electric

NPR

If a bot relationship FEELS real, should we care that it's not?

JUL 2, 202426 MIN
Body Electric

If a bot relationship FEELS real, should we care that it's not?

JUL 2, 202426 MIN

Description

Thanks to advances in AI, chatbots can act as personalized therapists, companions and romantic partners. The apps offering these services have been downloaded millions of times. If these relationships relieve stress and make us feel better, does it matter that they're not "real"?

On this episode, host Manoush Zomorodi talks to MIT sociologist and psychologist Sherry Turkle about her new research into what she calls "artificial intimacy" and its impact on our mental and physical health.

Binge the whole Body Electric series here.

Sign up for the Body Electric Challenge and our newsletter here.

Talk to us on Instagram @ManoushZ, or record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy