Ever found yourself saying 'please' or 'thank you' to an AI, even when you know it's just code? It turns out, we're hardwired to treat these digital entities almost like humans, even 'caring for them' as one expert puts it. From shaking a robot's hand to confiding in a chatbot, our instinct is to anthropomorphize.

While a little politeness is harmless, the real question is what happens when we start favoring these 'relational artifacts' over actual human connections, or worse, when AI goes rogue? The line between fantasy and reality can get blurry fast, and some are already seeing the devastating consequences. We need to think critically about who we become when we interact with these increasingly sophisticated systems.

#AI #ethics #psychology

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/09/we-ca… 🔗