Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has issued a warning about artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots increasing loneliness among young men, the New York Post reported. In a conversation with entrepreneur and marketing professor Scott Galloway during his podcast The Prof G Show, Mr Schmidt expressed concerns over what could be a “visually and emotionally perfect AI girlfriend, or boyfriend”.
“The AI girlfriend captures your mind as a man to the point where she takes over the way you’re thinking, that kind of obsession is possible, especially for people who are not fully formed,” Mr Schmidt said.
“Parents are going to have to be more involved for all the obvious reasons, but at the end of the day, parents can only control what their sons and daughters are doing within reason,” he added.
Although users of all ages are at risk from AI-powered chatbots, young men are particularly vulnerable, he said.
“There’s lots of evidence that there’s now a problem with young men. In many cases, the path to success for young men has been, shall we say, been made more difficult because they’re not as educated as the women are now,” Mr Schmidt said.
Asked if he believed that AI girlfriends could make the loneliness epidemic worse for men and contribute to bigger social issues like misogyny and terrorism, the billionaire said it was very much possible.
He said, “Many of the traditional paths [for young men] are no longer as available and so they turn to the online world for enjoyment and sustenance and because of the social media algorithms, they find like-minded people who ultimately radicalise them, either in a horrific way, like terrorism, or in the kind of way you’re describing – they’re just maladjusted.”
According to Mr Schmidt, teens are not prepared to use complex, AI-powered technologies.
