By Maya Zubrinsky
Jean Piaget, a pioneering psychologist, posits that during the pre-operational stage of cognitive development, children attribute lifelike consciousness, emotions, and intentionality to inanimate objects. According to this same theory, around seven years old logical reasoning begins to supersede this form of imaginative thinking, suggesting that we typically outgrow the egocentric tendency to see nonhuman entities as being relational to ourselves from a young age. Yet, artificial intelligence (AI) has presented a psychological regression to this premature stage of development with the way individuals are willing to see and trust their virtual assistants as ones of our own kind. The film Her tried to visually conceptualize a phenomenon where humans might form intimate connections with technology back in 2013, but only in recent years have we seen the lengths to which that dystopia has become a reality. Beyond romantic relationships being formed with chatbots, the surge in seeking out AI for emotional connection and support is fundamentally reshaping how vulnerability, relationships, and therapy are evaluated by the face of humanity.