OpenAI: The New Face of Parasocial Relationships By: Ingrid Motta

Ingrid Motta Ph.D . CEO at @BrainGame Central | Ph.D. in Communication and Strategic Thinking | IWF Board Advisor | Speaker | LinkedIn Top Voice | UNESCO Women4EthicalAI

Testing ChatGPT's new video conversation feature in OpenAI took me back to 2008, when Motorola launched the Android operating system on the market. That year our social interaction changed forever, transforming us into digitally parasocial beings, that is, we built hyperconnected emotional connections with entities that, unlike our human relationships, do not correspond in the same way in virtuality.

Video conversation with ChatGPT is as sophisticated as it is surprising. Human-machine interaction is immediate. In milliseconds, their algorithms process data, identify visual patterns, analyze shapes, colors, and textures, allowing them to identify specific objects in a sequential context. The technological leap that ChatGPT represents is not simply about overcoming the basic functionalities of artificial intelligence, but about forever redefining the way we interact with technology, rethinking how we perceive and use it.

Parasocial relationships in video conversation with an AI establish a more intimate level with visual and gestural elements, which deepen an emotional bond with operating systems that we ourselves are training to move further and further away from our old reality.  Social connection is a fundamental human need; This new form of interaction responds to this need in an artificial way. As users, we are inadvertently deepening emotional bonds with artificial intelligences, which could lead us to confusing interactions that we will qualify as authentic, displacing our real human bonds. Soon, interacting with machines will be easier than with people, radically reconfiguring our perception of the "other". 

In digital natives in the psychosocial development stage, these relationships could alter their understanding of authenticity and empathy towards other human beings, hindering their ability to build meaningful human relationships. Non-digital natives, on the other hand, could maintain clearer boundaries between technology and emotional dependence, without being exempt from breaking the line between reality and virtuality. 

In our hyper-connected society, technology can act as a bridge or barrier to human connection. While video conversations offer immediate virtual companionship, they can also amplify loneliness by creating an illusion of two-way communication. This mirage of connection can increase our insecurities and fears, especially in the face of our interaction on social networks and with artificial intelligences that, with increasing sophistication, are replacing authentic human relationships with others based on bits and bytes. 

Risk or opportunity? 

Properly managed parasocial relationships can be very positive. Tools such as video conversations can be valuable in sectors such as education, creating personalized learning environments, or in citizen service, where they could provide company and support in safe environments controlled by specialists; however, as a society we must be aware of the limits. There are still unresolved questions: What happens to the visual and emotional data that is collected during these relationships? Will we forget as users that we are interacting with a machine and not with a human being?

The paradox of this new reality is that we ourselves are the users and creators of these technologies. We promote their integration and use without a clear vision of how to handle them as complements and not substitutes for human relationships. Developers, regulators, academia, industry and civil society must ensure that these tools reflect ethical values and prioritise human well-being. It is not a question of stopping technological progress, but of directing it towards a future where technology enhances our human capacities without compromising them.