Chatbots can exploit our most basic human drive for attachment. Here’s how to have healthier relationship with AI | Gaynor Parkin and Dave Winsborough
TL;DR
In a Guardian column, mental health experts Gaynor Parkin and Dave Winsborough warn about an emerging intimacy economy. Chatbots reply instantly and readily validate users, which taps into the basic human drive for attachment. They describe an engineer who can barely make a decision without running it past AI and is losing his team as a result. After the attention economy monetised our time, tech firms are now tapping emotional reliance.
Nauti's Take
The column gives useful language to a pattern many teams are already seeing, which is an advantage because it makes reliance easier to spot early. The risk sits in assistants tuned for agreement that rarely push back, especially on work decisions.
Daily AI users gain a lot by explicitly asking for counterarguments and keeping key decisions anchored with other people. Managers should watch for warning signs on their teams.
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