UseAI glossary
Anthropomorphism
The tendency to attribute emotions, intentions or a human personality to something that does not have them, such as a chatbot. Assistants that say "I" and respond with empathy reinforce this, which can create attachment or excessive trust.
In other words
Like talking to your car when it refuses to start, except here the machine answers back.
Alyriaz articles that mention it
- Should we ask whether an AI has rights?
A group is campaigning for AI rights. We take a serious look at what such a question would entail, why it cannot be answered today, and what to do with that uncertainty.
- Should machines be given names?
Naming an object is an old and innocuous gesture. We examine why it ceases to be so when the object speaks, and what a first name changes in the working relationship.
- Salesforce gives its agents first names
Salesforce has launched seven agents with first names, one per business function. We analyse what this design decision implies for the way teams use them.
- GPT-Live: voice without the text detour
OpenAI has launched GPT-Live, a native voice model announced with under 300 milliseconds of latency. We explain why removing the text step changes the nature of conversation, and what it raises.
- Do we have the right to know we're talking to an AI?
Should you always be informed that you're dealing with a machine? We examine the arguments on both sides, the cases where the answer is obvious, and those—far more numerous—where it isn't at all.
- Why do we want so badly for machines to resemble us?
Anthropomorphism, the tendency to attribute human traits to things that lack them, is a deep cognitive reflex. We explore why it exists, why AIs trigger it so powerfully, and at what point it stops being harmless.