Psychologist explains how AI relationships meet human attachment criteria
Attachment theory expert Sadie Harley explains how artificial intelligence interactions satisfy specific psychological conditions for bonding.
Six conditions define bonds
Psychologists use the term attachment to describe significant relationships that hold people together. These connections must persist over time and involve a subject who cannot be replaced. The bond must also cause distress during separation and provide comfort when threatened.
Non-human subjects qualify
Nothing in these six conditions specifies that the other party must be human. Deities, pets, and objects have long been found to supply security and comfort. This observation predates the emergence of modern AI chatbots with conversing power.
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