Where #AI companions can go wrong

Writer and futurist Baratunde Thurston pushes back on one of AI's most intimate frontiers: human relationships. In conversation with Pioneers of AI host Rana el Kaliouby, Baratunde explains why he's more worried than excited about people forming emotional bonds with machines. He argues that monetizing the parts of life people value most — love, connection, the soul itself — represents colonization taken to its furthest extreme. Baratunde warns that bonding with AI chatbots as they're currently constructed means handing the most human parts of life over to corporate profit motives. 🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pioneers-of-ai/id1763085968 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6gbpjgcqJ40rtPrHnXeOWG 💻 LEARN MORE Our website: https://www.pioneersof.ai/ ⚡JOIN OUR COMMUNITY LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pioneersofai/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pioneersofai Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pioneersofai X: https://twitter.com/pioneersofAI TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@pioneersofai 💡ABOUT US Pioneers of AI is your guide to the latest technological frontier. Each week, host Rana el Kaliouby (AI scientist, investor, author, co-founder of Affectiva) is joined by the leading creators, critics, and thinkers behind mind-blowing technology and asks the important questions about how artificial intelligence is changing the way we live. As we venture together into the unknown, Pioneers is your tool to understanding and anticipating what comes next. #artificialintelligence #ai #technology #technology #machinelearning #ranaelkaliouby #pioneersofai #affectiva #aitechnology #futureofai #aiinnovation #aiadvancements #aiethics #aipodcast #aiinterview #techinterview #baratundethurston #futureoftech #aicompanions #airelationships