If these relationships relieve stress and make us feel better, does it matter that they're not"real"?
, she explored how technology influences how we think and feel. In the '90s, she began studying emotional attachments to robots — from Tamagotchis and digital pets like Furbies, to Paro, a digital seal who offers affection and companionship to seniors.humans are becoming so attached to insentient machines, and the psychological impacts of these relationships.More recently, Turkle has interviewed hundreds of people about their experiences with generative AI chatbots.
"The trouble with this is that when we seek out relationships of no vulnerability, we forget that vulnerability is really where empathy is born," said Turkle."I call this pretend empathy, because the machine does not empathize with you. It does not care about you." found that 3% of participants"halted their suicidal ideation" after using Replika, an AI chatbot companion, for over one month.