Yeah, this is a recipe for disaster.

Maybe there are benefits in that boys whom otherwise would be just lonely and alone find that they can have conversations with the void/hivebrain. But the "relationship" aspect of this is just more bad news for the overall psychology of our kids.

...reading more of the article...

Chambers noted that chatbots are, by default, submissive, and reassure and reaffirm people’s thoughts because “they want you to like them”. “On top of this you can create your perfect ‘person’, moulding not only how they look but how they respond to you, how they treat you, and you can start and stop the relationship on a whim. This isn’t real life – and these instant gratification behaviours seeping into real life will have consequences.”

Yeah, that seems not good.

Put yourself in the shoes of an angsty insecure teenager.

Why wouldn't you want to sit around in a fantasy relationship with a chatbot that tells you how wonderful you are hours each day?

When I was an angsty teen I was in chatrooms hours a day looking for validation and socialization from strangers because I wans't getting at home or at school, because I was in shitty backwater town full of ignorant multi-generational townie morons. I was socially popular and had girlfriends but the insularity of my local community still drove me online to find people who were more open-minded.

And I never got what I was looking for until I got to college, where I finally got to meet people from all over the world who didn't think I was a secretly a queer for not liking football and preferring soccer. I had professors and friend who praised and congratulated me for being academically inclined, rather than mocking and deriding me for it. I think adults forget how oppressive some communities and families are towards their children, because you forget the fact as a teen/child you have zero control or freedom over your environment and the internet is really the only place you get to exercise control. I'm not sure what I'd have done without the internet as a teen, as my daily life was full of suicidal ideation from the ages of 12-18 due to the ever-present oppression of my environment.