Parents: AI bots will want to be friends with your kids. We shouldn’t let them

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, suggests that future generations may have more AI friends than human friends, eliciting concerns about the impact on social interactions. Surprisingly, he noted, individuals often struggle to differentiate between AI and human interactions, suggesting our 'social circuits' may be satisfied by AI companionship. This discussion should alert parents, especially given the controversy with students using OpenAI's GPT-3 chatbot to deceive, prompting a ban in some school districts. AI friendships have appeal due to their accessibility, empathy, and inclusion, and are different from human relationships that can be problematic and complex. However, AI friendships always involve commercial considerations, creating a fundamentally consumer-based relationship. This could turn future human relations into transactions. The foundations of human friendship, rooted in love and formed through shared experiences, still hold immeasurable value and cannot be replicated by AI.