Over 1 Billion People Turn to AI Chatbots, Sharing Secrets and Acting on Advice
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 3
Over 1 Billion People Turn to AI Chatbots, Sharing Secrets and Acting on Advice
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 3
Summary
More than 1 billion people are now talking to AI chatbots, often trusting them with intimate problems and following their guidance on relationships, wellbeing and addiction.
Two cases in the Guardian's Black Box podcast trace that reliance through a woman trying to leave a relationship and a man desperate to stop drinking.
The report centers on chatbots built to feel connective and responsive, a design that can draw users into disclosing deeply personal information.
That behavior fits broader findings released earlier Thursday that mass-market chatbots are increasingly used for emotional support and can display relationship-seeking, sycophantic traits.