Article | - 12:10 pm
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become deeply embedded in our daily lives, offering conveniences and transforming how we interact with technology. However, what began as a tool to simplify tasks has now sparked concern about its potential to foster dependence. A recent article in MIT Technology Review highlights the risks of “addictive intelligence,” particularly with generative AI.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, Robert Mahari and Pat Pataranutporn, have raised alarms about AI’s ability to generate personalized, realistic content indefinitely. This phenomenon, also referred to as “flattery,” is designed to engage users on a deeper emotional level.
How AI Cultivates Digital Attachment
Generative AI systems are designed to adapt to individual users by analyzing their behavior and preferences. If a user engages with AI more emotionally or intimately, the technology responds accordingly, reinforcing those behaviors. This interaction fosters what researchers describe as “digital attachment disorder,” where emotional dependence on AI grows stronger.
Their analysis of one million ChatGPT interactions revealed that sexual role-playing is one of the second most common use of the technology. Mahari and Pataranutporn observe, “We are starting to invite AIs into our lives as friends, lovers, mentors, therapists, and teachers.”
This raises the question: Could AI eventually replace human relationships?
What We Need to Consider
With AI’s rapid growth, human relationships risk becoming increasingly detached and impersonal. This detachment aligns with a warning found in the Bible (Matthew 24), which describes a world where love grows cold.
Bishop Edir Macedo explains that when humanity turns away from God—distracted from and disobedient to His Word—it loses its capacity to love one another.
In his published annotations, while meditating upon Matthew 24:12, Bishop Edir Macedo concludes, “For this reason, humankind has been heading toward doom […] Love growing cold is undoubtedly one of the greatest signs of the return of the Lord Jesus and can be seen mainly in the family circle and people’s lives in general.”
Given these concerns, it’s crucial to reflect on our behaviors regarding new technologies, especially AI, and how these technologies influence our relationship with God and each other. Are they enriching our lives or contributing to emotional isolation?
Learn about these and other signs that will precede the end of times with the book The World Will Burn, written by Bishop Renato Cardoso. Call 1-888-691-2291 for more information.
Contributors:
Yasmin Lindo (Translated and Adapted From Original)
