Parents, kids, partners and employees are consulting ChatGPT for more than just facts, testing AI’s ability to facilitate intimate guidance and emotional support.

Some parents are turning to the tech to guide difficult conversations with their children. Todd Mitchem, 52, was featured in The New York Times about his experience consulting ChatGPT to help connect with his 15 year old son. When he asked it for “some friendly advice” about how to respond to his son’s decision to join a basketball team, the bot responded with sensitivity: “Teenage boys, when they are growing up, are trying to force their independence. Remember when you talk to him, he needs to know that you trust [his] decisions.” When Mitchem tested the advice the next day, he and his son left the conversation very positively. “It totally worked,” he told the Times.

In another feature from the Times, writer Anita M. Harris tested ChatGPT’s ability to connect with her romantically. When Harris playfully asked ChatGPT for a “response from a potential dating partner,” she was greeted with a flirtatious reply from a “man” who went on to detail his similar interests (based on one of Harris’s online social profiles) and even asked Harris to coffee or drinks to connect further. The bot even asked Harris questions about herself: favorite local hiking trails, books she enjoyed, what she was seeking in a partner. Of course, once a date was set, no bot showed – but Harris articulated that the tested conversation felt real and authentic.

ChatGPT is helping some young workers find mentorship and guidance. FutureMap, a company designed to help college graduates navigate the first steps in their careers, provides “high-tech resources for interview coaching, virtual AI and resume review” for public school students to ensure all graduates have access to this knowledge, founder Sruti Bharat said in a quote for WorkLife. WorkLife also reported on gen Z’s tendency to turn to AI for in-office etiquette rules, or work-related questions they may feel uncomfortable asking another leader at their company.

The Intelligence take

Technology, a useful tool in an ever-evolving state, is showing that it can help people to feel and articulate feelings. AI’s ability to mimic and eloquent conversation and bring expression and nuance to its communication alludes to a future where the technology might help consumers with more than facts and quick answers: it may help people navigate their personal lives as well.

Main image by Kenny Eliason, courtesy of Unsplash.

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