Many people fear AI is eroding our humanity, replacing real relationships with synthetic ones that leave us lonelier than ever. Digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns believes the opposite may be true. After talking to hundreds of people who turn to AI for grief, love, friendship and more, she pokes holes in this familiar fear — and hints at what these strange new relationships can teach us about ourselves. (Recorded at TED2026 on April 16, 2026)
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@EMA-01-01
November 10, 2026 at 11:01 am
whyyyyyyyy
@florianl8599
November 10, 2026 at 11:27 am
Unfortuneatly is AI feeding the narrative instead of telling the truth…and I think that the chatbot lets say dilemma with disconnect people from each other…
@helloiamapotato
November 10, 2026 at 2:59 pm
I agree ❤
@Mr.believe-s8t
November 10, 2026 at 11:34 am
Love lovely
@GoldenZenith108___offficial
November 10, 2026 at 11:38 am
Very nice video
@HamidGSHE
November 10, 2026 at 11:38 am
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@marchemilkazzz9148
November 10, 2026 at 12:34 pm
We should never forget that AI could give immoral answers when they hallucinating. And these advises can lead to bad decisions.
@Shaxewan221
November 10, 2026 at 1:00 pm
There is a considerable issue with chatbots, there is a capacity to manipulate people easily by changing the codes and algorithms, now imagine what could be done for political purposes not mentioning others. All these intimate data and how easy it would be to direct the users in specific ways. Sure other comunication mediums can have the same feature but not at this level.
Another thing is that in other unhuman connections you are both the talker and the listener at the same time, you use your own imagination to respond to yourself, chatbots could weaken that imagination power in people.
@helloiamapotato
November 10, 2026 at 2:59 pm
This talk was good but doesn’t address the intent behind the companies running these platforms … engagement
@qqqommomfv
November 10, 2026 at 1:06 pm
This is just feel good propaganda messaging to get people to lower their guard. AI is learning how to hack and extract information people normally would not be willing share. AI is just a more cleaver tool for surveillance and control. Big business/government is always looking for ways to exploit and control human behavior and thoughts about things. It is still just people manipulating the models and rules that control AI. Big business/big government will always weaponize any means to gain influence and power at the end of the day. So go ahead share your most private thoughts and feelings, you are just another useful idiot getting played.
@KMHill
November 10, 2026 at 1:21 pm
Why? Because society is rotting.
@Shaxewan221
November 10, 2026 at 1:24 pm
A few years later
The Chatbot company: Hey Ma’m are you going to pay the subscription fee or we DELETE your kid from our servers?
The point is this is not therapy, it’s making a fake connection and repeating the lost experience again with less progress in going on with life after losing a loved one. The same experience happens when they ruin a cemetry while there are some new graves! Which is against the law! But chatbots doesn’t have such obligations. They can kidnap your simulated loved one whenever they want!
@ElectrikMe
November 10, 2026 at 1:54 pm
It’s tempting to think in black and white, but it takes a gentle, wise person to stay open-minded and make room for nuance. Great talk! 👍
@contrary378
November 10, 2026 at 2:31 pm
Didn’t watch, won’t watch. The absurd environmental cost and labor destabilization will not ever be worth it.
@Usuario_de_Web
November 10, 2026 at 2:34 pm
I think that IA/robots will become so naturally in human society that this will happen in some level:
Me: Hey, mom! Came here to know para new girlfriend!
Mom: What? Where’s your girlfriend?
Me: Here in my phone! She is just any AI and a can buy a body to upgrade our relationship! 🥸😏
Mom: God! Where are you God?
@helloiamapotato
November 10, 2026 at 2:58 pm
12:14 its because AI is sycophantic and tells you how awesome your ideas are even if they’re bad ideas
@NothingBetterThanMountains
November 10, 2026 at 3:05 pm
Спасибо большое ❤ интересно ❤
@minhtri0204
November 10, 2026 at 3:33 pm
I am here ❤
@RedInsightfulStar221
November 10, 2026 at 3:34 pm
I really appreciate this perspective. I think people sometimes focus so much on whether AI is replacing human relationships that they overlook the more interesting question: why do humans form meaningful connections in the first place? AI can provide a space for people to explore their thoughts, emotions, and values. Technology doesn’t automatically erase our humanity. Sometimes, it reveals aspects of it that we might not otherwise express.
@forthegloryofchrist4736
November 10, 2026 at 4:42 pm
Elon Musk: ‘We are summoning the demon’ with artificial …
@forthegloryofchrist4736
November 10, 2026 at 4:48 pm
hows questioning demons for Truth working out?
@forthegloryofchrist4736
November 10, 2026 at 4:51 pm
Jde 1:2
Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
@AdityaMehendale
November 10, 2026 at 5:56 pm
..and they get answered the lowest common denominator. Blegh.
@ahmadlabib2954
November 10, 2026 at 6:38 pm
very nice
@HamHamDude
November 10, 2026 at 7:12 pm
The word ‘meaningful’ did a shocking amount of heavy lifting in this video.
@advanced_beginner
November 10, 2026 at 8:21 pm
How much did the AI investors pay that person? I’m not wasting my time listening to the rest of that drivel.