Yuval Noah Harari on risks of intimate relationships with AI: 'There could be unknown benefits, but for now…'
Israeli historian and author
Yuval Noah Harari
has warned that artificial intelligence's (AI) ability to replicate intimacy can alter human relationships. The author, known for his bestselling books Sapiens and Nexus, said that, "there could be unknown benefits, but for now, the risks far outweigh them."
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Harari suggested that while fears about job automation dominate headlines, AI's impact on intimate relationships presents a more unsettling prospect. In a recent post shared on Instagram, the author added a video clip of his discussion which was co-hosted by the
Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien
, Tokyo College, and Kawade Shobo. During this interview, Harari explained that AI, having already mastered language and attention, is now progressing towards mimicking intimacy, which he considers a potent human connection.
What author Yuval Noah Harari said about intimate relationships with AI
Captioning the Instagram post, Harari wrote:
'Wouldn't you want a partner that always gives you 100% attention and is never upset? We are facing a world where a new generation grows up with
intimate relationships with AI
. There could be unknown benefits – but for now, the risks far outweigh them.'
In the video, he can be seen saying:
'AI can replicate intimacy the same way that it masters language and the same way that it previously mastered attention.
The Next Frontier is intimacy, and it is much more powerful than attention. If you want to change somebody's views on politics to sell a product, anything intimacy is the most powerful tool to do that. A good friend can change your views in a way that no number of articles in a newspaper or a book can do until today. Nothing could fake intimacy, and it was impossible in particular to mass produce intimacy.'
Take a look at the Instagram post
'Now, what happens if the new generation grows up? And develops intimate relations with AIs instead of with other human beings.
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Again, we don't know. It could have some benefits, but the potential danger is enormous. That people will become attached to the fake people, and in the process, we lose the ability to create intimacy with real human beings. Because really, human beings are much more problematic than AIs that want to become your intimate friend,'
Harari continued.
'Its greatest advantage is that it has no feelings of its own. It's never upset.
It's never angry. It's never tired. It can focus on you 100%. Understand exactly how you feel and create a fake sense of intimacy,'
the author, who is known for exploring human evolution, technology, consciousness, and AI's impact on our future further noted.
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