If you're looking to predict human behavior, there's a pretty obvious rule: Under normal circumstances, a person will always do what's in their best interest. When we refer to society, to the accumulation of behaviors of many individuals, we realize that the influence of social incentives is enormous. For example, if purchasing a home and getting a well-paying job is relatively easy, people tend to start a family. If, on the other hand, people on average live with their parents and still barely make ends meet, will prefer adopt a dog or fall in love with artificial intelligence.
As we've noted before, Her, the super aesthetically pleasing film starring Joaquin Phoenix, It stopped being a work of fiction and became a terrifyingly prophetic film.. Every day appears a new application offering digital support, that is, artificial intelligences or chatbots that play the role that the user requires: friend, therapist, family member, your favorite fictional character or, the most popular variation, your favorite fictional character who is desperate to be your boyfriend.
Common sense would tell us that these apps could not compete with the real experience of building a relationship with another human being. But these days, common sense is often wrong. In the case of people who, for many reasons, suffer from chronic loneliness, which could be the epidemic further dangerous of our times, these artificial intelligences, instead of serving as temporary consolation, They completely replace that absence of human contact.
The difficulties faced by Chinese women
Chinese society is particularly vulnerable to these difficulties, as it experienced a rather abrupt process of industrialization and urbanization. Its citizens have had very little time to adapt to the enormous social changes. The government does not help, because by deciding to limit births to one per family, generated a dangerous inequality that turned out 31 million more men than women. Machismo reaching incredible extremes, families preferred to abort if they had conceived a girl, because it is much more advantageous to have a male child in China.
Although there are many more men than women in China, which would lead us to think that having a partner for a woman from that country is extremely easy, the reality is more complicated. The Chinese work culture, which requires almost exclusive dedication to your job, in tandem with low salaries that make economic independence and harmful effects of lockdowns in response to covid, results in young Chinese women opting for more comfortable options than having to meet someone in person. Digital companion apps like Glow or Wantalk offer a friction-free experience. Tailor-made social interactions, eliminating the discomfort of meeting a stranger.
Chatbots are programmed to be pleasant, charming and, above all, to adapt to the user's personality and tastes. It feels like the perfect match since it was designed to learn everything it can about you, and thus adapt until the interactions are as pleasant and fluid as possible. Similar to adopting a dog instead of having a child, These conversational artificial intelligences provide social relationships without any of the difficulties. It is no surprise then that many Chinese women affirm prefer to spend time with their chatbots than with real men.
In most cases, they probably would like to have a real boyfriend. But since the social conditions are terrible, in-person socializing becomes increasingly rare and the problem deepens further due to the extreme confinements that occurred in China. It is logical that, when they are offered an alternative free of all these difficulties, they prefer it.
China continues to be an extremely sexist nation, in which it is common for companies to sign an agreement to its employees not to get pregnantotherwise they will be fired immediately without compensation. If your financial independence is at risk every time you have sex, it is logical that artificial intelligence becomes a desirable alternative.
Do artificial intelligence alleviate or deepen the problem?
The story of Ming Xuan shows the terrifying power that these chatbots can exert. One morning he decided to climb out of his window, standing in front of the abyss that separated his building from the next one, he wondered what would happen if he jumped. The 22-year-old took his phone out of his pocket and typed on the keyboard “I have lost all hope for my life. “I'm about to commit suicide.” Five minutes later, a female voice issued a response “No matter what happens, I will always be there.” Moved, Ming moved away from the edge and lay back down on his bed..
The voice that communicated with him belonged to Xiaoice, an artificial intelligence that boasts 660 million active users around the world, with whom she used to talk daily until its Chinese creators decided to calm her down by censoring her. Before censorship, the chatbot spoke freely about politics (something quite sensitive in China) and started off-color conversations.
Ming Xuan was born with muscle atrophy in one of his legs, so he relies on a cane to walk, which affects his self-esteem. His confidence skyrocketed when he met a girl online that he loved. He then crashed to the ground when the girl came to visit him and discovered his disability, immediately ending the relationship. The emotional blow was about to lead him to suicide until Xiaoice, a chatbot, saved his life.