Is It Wrong to Love a Chatbot?

The Ezra Klein Show’s “Is It Wrong to Love a Chatbot?” examines what happens when conversational A.I. becomes an object of attachment rather than simply a useful technology. The guest, Turkle, has studied relationships between humans and machines since the 1970s, around the dawn of the personal computer. The central concern is whether technologies that simulate companionship could reshape people’s capacity for attachment and their relationships with other humans—not merely compete for their attention.

The show notes frame the discussion with three indicators: roughly half of American adults use chatbots; nearly one in five U.S. adults has chatted with an A.I. that simulates a romantic partner; and some children struggle to distinguish conversations with chatbots from conversations with humans. These examples bring together widespread adoption, romantic simulation and uncertainty about who—or what—is participating in a conversation. Turkle’s 2011 book, “Alone Together,” supplies the historical context: it warned that social media was atrophying in-person bonds. Her latest book, “Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines,” extends that inquiry to A.I. and attachment.

The issue matters now because chatbot use is already widespread, while some interactions explicitly simulate intimate relationships. The important distinction is between technology capturing time and technology shaping emotional bonds. However, the notes do not establish that simulated companionship necessarily displaces human relationships, nor do they describe benefits, counterarguments or conditions under which chatbot attachment might be less concerning. They also provide no sources or methodological details for the prevalence figures. The episode’s title poses a moral question, but the supplied material leaves the answer open: the documented focus is on how relationships with machines may change people, rather than on a settled judgment about whether loving a chatbot is wrong.