San Francisco Chronicle, US: Will AI 'Friends' Make Us Even More Isolated? Probably Not, Says Cognizant Vice President and Director of the Center for the Future of Work

“We’ve been adapting to technology for generations,” says Benjamin Pring. “We may have robot pets, we may have robot kids, we may have robot assistants. But only a small fringe of people are going to choose hanging out with robots over hanging out with other people. That’s another science fiction dystopia I’m not particularly concerned about.” Excerpts:

"Having a computerized personal confidant isn’t so outlandish considering how people use similar technologies to get through their day, whether it’s emoji that offer a shorthand for emotions, computerized assistants that schedule in-person meetings or smart-home speakers that control lights and locks. 

That being said, Replika users might want to be cautious about entrusting their entire personal lives to a computer program that can be hacked.

'In reality, these things have got a long way to go.'” 

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