Technological history may not repeat, but it occasionally rhymes. Last September, ChatGPT, the popular generative A.I. program made by OpenAI, released a voice mode that allowed users to talk to the software. ChatGPT then “talks” back. A few days later, OpenAI’s head of safety posted on X about a surprisingly moving interaction she had with the program:
Just had a quite emotional, personal conversation w/ ChatGPT in voice mode, talking about stress, work-life balance. Interestingly I felt heard & warm. Never tried therapy before but this is probably it? Try it especially if you usually just use it as a productivity tool.
The short post was a rich text, ripe for satirical interpretation—the highly paid, emotionally obtuse Silicon Valley engineer who isn’t familiar with therapy but thinks she’s encountered a worthy simulation of it in the notoriously bug-ridden product her employer produces. Where to begin?
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