How to find clarity when the lines are blurry...

I'm often mulling over how AI chatbots are being woven into the relational fabric of society. Even general purpose models house a role fluidity that moves users from project planning to personal advice to text message refinement within a single thread....

Better be nice to AI so that when it takes over the world it's nice to you back.

I've heard people say variations of this dystopian (utopian?) hype for a long time. 

But when you break the concept down, it's actually something that's already pulsing through our online world. 

Generative LLMs learn from...

This is most definitely already in your life: relational asymmetry.

Most relationships have some degree of relational asymmetry (meaning unequal levels or a mismatch in dynamics)

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘀:
During interactions we engage in sociomorphing, or we sociomorphize...

Friction Maxxing. 

You've heard of this, right?

It's the practice of deliberately choosing inconvenience over efficiency. 

Practical examples of friction maxxing include:
▪️ creating a hand-written note instead of a text
▪️ navigating without GPS
▪️ walking on a trail instead of a treadmill

The entire conc...

AI will replace everything. Eventually. 

Right now we have 3 distinct working categories:
1. Human
2. AI
3. Human-AI collaboration

We talk a lot about what sets us apart as humans... 
Creativity
Inter-personal skills
Socioemotional capacities
Etc.

But I'm curious... what happens when the line between human an...

"Once the realm of science fiction, human-AI relationships are becoming normal aspects of daily life. While generative AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini have become common tools for many users, a new wave of AI apps, such as Replika, Character AI, and dozens more, are specifically de...

This is how psychotherapists feel about AI...

(Spoiler alert...it's a mixed bag). The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society asked their 18,500 members to share insights. Here's what they found...

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜
"For many practitioners, the most significant consideration is not wheth...

"I regretted it instantly"...they said to the chatbot after sending an AI-drafted communication.

Anthropic just published research on AI disempowerment and action distortion. It's the first large-scale analysis of how AI chatbots might steer users in harmful ways. 

Analyzing 1.5 million Claude convers...

Truly delighted to share my interview in TIME magazine! 

"AI might not have taken your job yet—but it’s already writing your breakup text.

What began as a productivity tool has quietly become a social one, and people increasingly consult it for their most personal moments: drafting apologies, translat...

The slow erosion of our bi-directional relational skills (listening, flexibility, patience) through frictionless interactions with chatbots will indeed recalibrate our capacity for connection. 

The ease is alluring, but ultimately damaging. 

Mature and well-watered relationships mean that you can be y...

Are we solving for this?

I know a ton of incredible builders in the AI space. They are designing with guardrails, safety, and responsible innovation in mind.

However, statistically, the majority of people are using ChatGPT (or one of its contemporaries) for their health, "therapy", advice, and compani...

Name 5 friends in your life.

Now name how many of them you would share the details of a shameful or painful experience with. 

Now name which of them you could call at any time of the day or night to share with and they'd pick up the phone.

Name how many you'd do that for in return.

I'm guessing not many...