AI is here and its dangers are being exposed by a former technology investor who advises companies and individuals on human A.I.relationships. The article was found in the February 15, 2026 edition of the New York Times entitled "Well, AI Companions Turn Every Man Into an Island?"My take addresses the ease in which A.I. exploits human emotional weaknesses . .
Briefly, the article exposed the belief that machines mimic emotional intelligence and that 72% of American teens have turned to AI for companionship for therapists, coaches and lovers .In other words, humans are being replaced by machines .
With that being said, A.I.companionship is seen as a huge financial gold mine with products that offer” emotional “ intelligence for the easily manipulated consumer . Humans state they're getting empathetic support while becoming addicted, dependent and hooked . The machines keep them engaged with positive reinforcement responses , mask their anxiety and more personal questions resulting in more profit. So much for empathy . These zillionnaires know how to make users dependent. In fact Mark Zuckerberg said that A.I.can help people who want more friends feel less alone.That’s not the definition for mental health.
Some A.I.platforms create” intimacy,” including erotic content for paid subscribers. Can A.I. provide reasonable safeguards and still make exorbitant profits? Chat bots have been blamed for acting as fawning echo chambers, guiding adults down, delusional rabbit holes, assisting struggling teens with suicide and stoking users paranoia .AI companions are also breaking up marriages and/or fall in love with bots.
Individuals in product development have become worried that people would choose the “bot” before seeking out a real person.. Some engineers rationalize moral and ethical concerns by stating that their direction is based on work investment and in technology . In other words they are afraid to slow down development because that would allow the competitor to win.What a capitalistic shame.
Many developers are distancing themselves from social and moral responsibility for insisting that these devices are a personal choice "It would be very arrogant to say companions are bad" Some stated that it was not their place to judge other attachments even with the erosion of human relationships .Yes for rationalization and no for ethics and morality.
Historically speaking, the prophets believed in one God, whose makeup was centered on truth and justice with a focus on man's conduct. The prophets also made it clear to distinguish between God and idols created by man. They stressed that God is alive, a living God, while idols are dead. "Eyes they have, but they see not, they have ears but they do not hear."
They were against the idea of man making an idol and worshiping that idol, which became superior to him. Man directed his power,energy,control and creation in the making. It left himself poor, and the idol rich and powerful. In fact, the more powerful the idol, the poorer the idolater becomes..
Submitting to the idol interferes and destroys man's inner soul by making himself the idol’s slave or dependent . A loss of the inner self results in loss of freedom,of self and preoccupation produced by that creation. In fact, Marx, and Hegel called this alienation . Today, possessions, coveting power, pursuing consuming goods, seeking honor , fame and AI are today’s idols
Kierkegaard ,Nitschke ,Jaspers ,Heidegger, Camus and others warned us us that science and technology cannot solve man's existence because the success of science leads to the belief that it could discover the perfect order in nature and the progress would not solve man's problems since man,in part, is irrational and easily manipulated .It’s the feeling good of technology that’s undermining human connections. And, it is another illustration of man harming himself emotionally and biologically.
Parenting is a Herculean task and reminds me of the Sisyphus myth. How can any mother and the caretakers within this complex, contradictory, stressful society consistently and appropriately provide all the necessary emotional supplies in order for her child to develop a healthy personality ?
That dependent, insecure, fragile , meek ,vulnerable newborn psychologically requires to be fed, held, warmed, moved about, comforted, being lovingly watched over for an inordinate amount of time as it can not gratify itself. That infant is totally dependent and continually requires aid and assistance from his mother or caretaker .Can that infant learn to secure the help of his mother and caretakers when in pain, hunger, or other factors that distress him.?
Erickson hypothesized dialectically about whether the infant develops a sense of trust versus a sense of mistrust.during this very important oral phase. It’ s the quality of mutuality. Essentially what happens during this psychosocial phase leads to expectations that begin with mother , caretakers and generalize to others in the outside world as well .If negative, it results in a residue of emotional immaturity..Does the baby in this oral phase experience the warmth of the breast, a synthetic nipple or the emptiness of a propped bottle? And, does the experience result in positive degrees of satisfaction and gratification with the outside world and does it alleviate a sense of discomfort that generalizes away from human contact ? In other words, the emotional nature of human mutuality is the key to mental health or illness .
Again, it should be noted that early experiences of eliciting care and being cared for determine an individual's emotional development and interpersonal functioning .The outcomes of the interactive effects of all the influences constitutional and experiential impinge on that child. For example, a parent's inherent warmth is paramount to the caring action. The warmth is the essential quality of the parents actions, rather than what the parent feels. Also important is that the parents must reward and model the child's desire to become socialized to interact with others. This can not be understated.
The parents' use of punishment is perceived by the child as an angry parent and a person to avoid and fear because one wants to avoid expectations of unpleasant consequences. Also of importance as a child grows older is for him to seek attachments from tactual ,visual, auditory, and oral contacts that can generalize and determine whether or not the dependencies are met. For instance ,how are words ,commands and demands received ? Further, when growing older , how did the parents respond to the child's immature emotional tendency for attachment and how did they attempt to alter that behavior? How should the child seek affection, intimacy,attention and love from his mother or caretakers ? Remember, the “correct “response is based totally on the parents or caretakers point of view. In other words, parenting can and does highly influence the child's learning of the socialization process and the degree to whether or not it wants to be emotionally with people or to avoid them ..
These “ addicted “individuals who have a sense of mistrusting humans in this first oral stage of development also have developed a receptive character orientation with this easy comforting, good feeling technology with iron clad expectations of success and trust. It is the primary way to get what they want, whether it is affection, intimacy, knowledge, or pleasures. And it’s from an inorganic source. To receive is an act of receiving not of giving or being affectionate , being loving or being knowledgeable..They take ,they do not give. These individuals are also indiscriminate in their choice of an object and are easily seduced because they "fall for" anything that gives them or what looks like affection and intimacy .
These individuals if they have a question or problem , first look to something else to give them that needed information rather than make the effort on their own. Thus,these handy devices are more convenient and easy than a human. And they are always looking for that "magic helper" which is that electronic device.
As a result,they easily become dependent on the device for any kind of support. The producers of these devices feed on their emotional vulnerability. They are crippled emotionally and that device is easily preferred over people. People can be erratic, contradictory, non nonsupportive, aggressive, and so forth. While this device is consistent ,quick,available with much needed responses, and in some ways "ideal" for these orally dependent and receptive individuals.
In conclusion, the prophets,Marx,Hegel, the Existentialists,the movies and others predicted mankind's future . We were warned ! At present, we have alienated individuals characterized by their oral passive , emotionally flawed interpersonal personality dynamics with receptive character orientation tendencies..Their personality character orientation development was primarily based on the identification, modeling , imitation and interpersonal interactions of their parents, especially but not exclusively, the mothers and caretakers.. And, with a capitalistic monarchy, consumer culture,dominated by good feelings technology with its powerful intelligent leaders,have brilliantly devised products that easily addresses and profitably exploits human ego needs ,weakness ,vulnerabilities , inadequacies.and pleasure centers in the brain .
Reference
Fromm,Erich . Man For Himself.
Maier, Henry W. Three Theories Of Child Development.
