Alison Pugh

I've heard people say, wow, I feel like I'm being seen right now.

And I think the kind of emotional human-like syntax that

and the not entirely predictable responses help people feel seen.

There's a couple of problems with it.

The first is that it's not an interaction.

Because it's not a human being on the other end, there's actually no risk

of judgment and on one level, that's a great thing for all the people who are afraid of the shame and judgment of others and who are walking around with dark secrets.

Many people can walk around with shame and the idea of having therapy that doesn't involve a human gaze

can be very appealing.

But because there's no risk of human judgment, people also are less attached to it.

This is also something that research has found that people like kind of are less motivated because they know it's not a human being.

So it's a kind of thing that engineers actually struggle with.

The more human they make it, the more judgment

It involves the less appealing it is to those who want to avoid judgment, the less human they make it, the more appealing it is to those who have shame, but also then the quicker the drop off because people don't consider the reflection of the other that hard won or that worth much.

You know what I'm saying?

Well, I do think that there's probably some minor uses that are important.

I think the same level like those who could get help from opening a book, I think can get help from seeking out some kind of technological assistance.

But I do think that there's something profound that happens between people and we risk losing that.

And it's so valuable, not just for the consumer or the learner or the patient.

but actually for society, for many people to be seen every day by different kinds of people produces a kind of belonging that has community effects.