'I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that'

 

By Frank Filocomo

For all the usefulness of AI, it can never replicate the inimitable qualities of humanness. 

AI scares the crap out of me.

HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was the first "AI" I can remember seeing depicted in a movie. Though, when I saw it as a kid in the 2010s, AI stood for Adobe Illustrator, not Artificial Intelligence. 

HAL, in other words, was AI before we knew what AI was. 

You don't need to see the movie in full to appreciate the creepiness of this scene:

For all the usefulness of AI, it can never replicate the inimitable qualities of humanness. 

AI spits things back at you; it does not have feeling or original thought. 

While a handy tool, it is not a replacement for real life social connection. 

Some, however, while knowing full well that AI is not a being with a soul, confide in AI chatbots.

In a recent episode of The Frank Forum podcast, I told my co-host Troy Olson about the tragic case of Sewell Setzer, a 14-year-old boy who, dealing with depression, fell in love with his AI chatbot and subsequently took his own life. 

Below is a screen grab from Sewell's correspondence with the AI chatbot. Sewell used the moniker "Daenero," while his chatbot's name, "Daenerys Targaryen," was apparently a Game of Thrones reference.

The chatbot encourages Sewell to "come home." Sadly, we know what that means. 

Sewell's story will likely not be the last of its kind. 

Gen Z, better than any other generation, understands the dangers of AI. In fact, a new report from Pew finds that "younger adults are largely pessimistic that chatbots can help people who use them for social and mental health support."

From Pew Survey on Aug. 25 2026

According to the survey:

About half of adults under 30 (49%) say chatbots do more to hurt people who use them for loneliness, and 41% say the same for depression. Far fewer say chatbots do more to help people with loneliness and depression (23% each).

Still, younger adults are "more likely than older adults to say they use chatbots for emotional support."

So, while it's good that Gen Z understands the dangers of relying too much on AI for emotional support, it's troubling that they still find themselves doing so.

It's kind of like a chain smoker that knows that smoking cause lung cancer, but still puffs away regardless. 

Young people need to curtail their AI use. Totally eliminating AI use isn't practical. It's ubiquitous now. But it can be scaled back.

My advice: Do what the students at my former high school Edward R. Murrow did. Form a luddite club. You don't need to trade in your smart phone for a dumb phone, but you can take steps to limit screen time. 

Marco Canora, chef and owner of the Manhattan restaurant Hearth, has placed boxes on each of the tables, encouraging diners to put their phones inside for the duration of their meal. 

That's smart thinking. 

And those with the depression or dealing with feelings of loneliness should, aside from leaning on their friends, seek professional help. 

AI, in excess, is not good for you. 

It is not human. It does not get you, nor does it know anything. It cannot help you because it is an it. 

People help people. 

The subtitle of Sherry Turkle's book Alone Together is Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.

Well, we should expect more from each other. A lot more.