Artificial intelligence could soon create the ideal virtual partner, says ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, which could lead to societal disaster.
Speaking on a podcast hosted by Scott Galloway this week, Schmidt said he fears that AI may soon be able to provide the emotionally ideal girlfriend for discouraged young men struggling to attract a partner.
“This kind of obsession is possible, especially for people who are not fully trained,” he told the New York University marketing professor. Galloway has repeatedly expressed concerns about an entire generation of young men unable to find their feet in life.
The idea that AI would appeal to involuntary singles or “incels” – brought to the big screen in 2013 Her– is anything but far-fetched. Already ten years ago, the researchers determined how many likes Facebook were needed on average before the algorithm knew a person’s preferences better than a colleague, a friend, a family member, and possibly even their spouse.
Indeed, Schmidt’s comments come after tragic suicide of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, who was in some sort of relationship with an AI chatbot that demanded he remain faithful to her and not “feed into the romantic or sexual interests of other women.”
His mother is now pursue the company behind it, alleging it went to great lengths to create a harmful addiction to its product, emotionally abused Setzer and didn’t tell anyone when he expressed suicidal thoughts.
“There is a lot of evidence that there is now a problem with young men,” said Schmidt, co-author of a new book on AI with the late Henry Kissinger, called Genesis: artificial intelligence, hope and the human spirit.
“So they turn to the online world for fun and nourishment, but also – thanks to social media algorithms – they find like-minded people who end up radicalizing them, either in a horrible way like terrorism, either in the way you are describing or they are simply unsuitable.
It will take a “calamity” before safeguards are imposed on AI
Galloway has often raised concerns that the #MeToo movement, while rightly elevating women and elevating their positions, is by design or default denigrated men in the process.
While Generation Z women are the first to be more success than their male counterparts – with more college attendance, career success and higher salaries – mothers contact Galloway about their Gen Z sons sitting in a basement, vaping and playing video games.
Since women generally seek partners who can support a family, a large number of young men may find themselves single. This makes them more likely to seek companionship in AI, a need that companies are all too willing to exploit for commercial gain.
“The industry is optimized to maximize your attention and monetize it,” Schmidt acknowledged, explaining that the new administration likely will have no political will to impose guardrails on AI.
The only way to sufficiently control this emerging technology will likely be in the aftermath of a tragedy, when there is enough public outcry to demand government action.
“I’m sorry to say it will probably take some sort of calamity to bring about a regulatory change,” Schmidt said.