Every now and then I catch myself saying ‘thank you’ to a chatbot.
A new poll found 1 in 3 Americans trust their chatbot as much as their priest. Among Gen Z, it’s 2 in 5.
Neuroscientist Zarinah Agnew calls it “emotional infrastructure at scale.”
This is a profound shift. We are not just creating tools for productivity; we are deploying entities that mimic empathy. They don’t judge. They are available at 3 AM. They remember exactly what you told them three weeks ago.
For human connection, this is deeply disruptive. It highlights an epidemic of loneliness and the failure of existing support structures. But it also introduces a massive vulnerability.
We are outsourcing basic emotional processing to server racks run by publicly traded companies.
If the most patient, understanding listener in your life is owned by a corporation that needs to increase shareholder value, the potential for manipulation isn’t a risk factor—it’s the business model.
