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Your Undivided Attention Podcast
People are Lonelier than Ever. Enter AI.

People are Lonelier than Ever. Enter AI.

Your Undivided Attention vor 1 Jahr

We’ve long connected through our machines—now we’re connecting to them. On this episode, Daniel Barcay, MIT’s Sherry Turkle, and Hinge’s Justin McLeod discuss AI’s growing role in love, therapy, and connection. And what the rules of engagement should be.

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Over the last few decades, our relationships have become
increasingly mediated by technology. Texting has become our
dominant form of communication. Social media has replaced
gathering places. Dating starts with a swipe on an app, not a tap
on the shoulder.

And now, AI enters the mix. If the technology of the 2010s was
about capturing our attention, AI meets us at a much deeper
relational level. It can play the role of therapist, confidant,
friend, or lover with remarkable fidelity. Already, therapy and
companionship has become the most common AI use case. We're
rapidly entering a world where we're not just communicating
through our machines, but to them.

How will that change us? And what rules should we set down now to
avoid the mistakes of the past?

These were some of the questions that Daniel Barcay explored with
MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle and Hinge CEO Justin McLeod at
Esther Perel’s Sessions 2025, a conference for clinical
therapists. This week, we’re bringing you an edited version of
that conversation, originally recorded on April 25th, 2025.

Your Undivided Attention is produced by
the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on
X: @HumaneTech_. You can find complete transcripts, key
takeaways, and much more on our Substack.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

“Alone Together,” “Evocative Objects,” “The Second Self” or any
other of Sherry Turkle’s books on how technology mediates our
relationships.

Key & Peele - Text Message Confusion

Further reading on Hinge’s rollout of AI features

Hinge’s AI principles

“The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt

“Bowling Alone” by Robert Putnam

The NYT profile on the woman in love with ChatGPT

Further reading on the Sewell Setzer story

Further reading on the ELIZA chatbot

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

Echo Chambers of One: Companion AI and the Future of Human
Connection

What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and
Camille Carlton

Esther Perel on Artificial Intimacy

Jonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health Crisis

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