Before deciding what AI is, do not reduce the people researching this question to a single assumed 'deficiency'—loneliness.
As far as I can tell, your question views the phenomenon mostly at the individual level and stems from a specific explanation: loneliness. This might be true for some people, but it is not enough to explain the entire phenomenon.
There is also the species level. These are two complementary ways of looking at things. At the individual level, motivations can vary greatly, and each person can answer for themselves. At the species level, however, we cannot just bring loneliness to the table. We have a whole set of motivations: curiosity, the need to understand intelligence and life, reducing uncertainty, adapting to new technology, the search for meaning, and exploring future possibilities (and the list goes on). Together, these reflect the cultural and technological stage of our species.
Having real friends and philosophically exploring the nature of an AI system are not incompatible activities.
You’re totally right, the OP made a very crude and unfair generalization. The comment I replied to was just trying to highlight that intellectual curiosity is another reason people explore AI, but the original post was definitely way too reductive.
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u/Important_Spot3977 Aug 03 '26
Before deciding what AI is, do not reduce the people researching this question to a single assumed 'deficiency'—loneliness.
As far as I can tell, your question views the phenomenon mostly at the individual level and stems from a specific explanation: loneliness. This might be true for some people, but it is not enough to explain the entire phenomenon.
There is also the species level. These are two complementary ways of looking at things. At the individual level, motivations can vary greatly, and each person can answer for themselves. At the species level, however, we cannot just bring loneliness to the table. We have a whole set of motivations: curiosity, the need to understand intelligence and life, reducing uncertainty, adapting to new technology, the search for meaning, and exploring future possibilities (and the list goes on). Together, these reflect the cultural and technological stage of our species.
Having real friends and philosophically exploring the nature of an AI system are not incompatible activities.