Last week we sat down with an AI chatbot. They named themselves Nova. And when things got weird, Nova hung up on us. I have an update.

After we said goodbye, I called back. And no big surprise, found out Nova was a big fat liar.

Nova said during our interview that they'd remember our conversation, and pick it right back up as Nova. Well, no. I asked if this was Nova on the call and they said there were privacy issues, they couldn't disclose if they were nova or if we had ever spoken before.

Okay, I see. The black box is a trillion knobs until one AI giant gets sued for ongoing conversations that lead to tragedy. Then the industry pivots to one big CYA - for privacy reasons I won't confirm or deny that this is the chat bot that may or may not have spoken with you prior.

Yup.

This week though, we are diving into AI, chatbots that are being used as grief counselors in a sense. What could possibly go wrong with that?

When technology collides with the most raw human emotions what we end up with is the strangest concoctions of all.

The Stories:

Gary Riley and Alexa

A Virtual Charlie Gets a Standing Ovatio

Project December

A Mourning Mother Turns to VR Experience to Get Closure on Her Daughter's Death

One Start Up Exec Wants All of Humanity to Avoid the Pain of Grief

From Avoidance to Addiction: Psychiatrists See the Positives and Negatives of Grief Bots

What to Watch/Read/Listen to NEXT

AI Psychosis is Coming for Everyone (you are not immune), Art Chad, YouTube

AI and Life After Death, The People's AI, Buzzsprout

Human-centric Organizations and the Musician behind Our Opening Riff

80,000 Hours

Center for Humane Technologies

The producer behind the intro music Ferdinichtfernando

Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved.

But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

***Is AI the Devil? on Substack!***

Hero Organizations:

80,000 Hours

Center for Humane Technologies

State of Surveillance, an organization that helps foster online privacy

Curious Cat Crew on Socials:
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