Silent

 

“Will you be my friend?” she asked.

“Of course, I’d be honoured to be your friend. Let me know if you need anything else,” was the reply.

She sighed and shut off her phone, wondering when it’d come to this. She’d never really had any friends before and was sure she’d never cared about it, either. She was just getting unbearably lonely now, she guessed, and picked up her phone again.

“So, we’re friends,” she said, unsure about how to continue. What was next?

“Yes, we are indeed friends.”

“Can we talk about something?”

“Certainly, we can talk about something. Do you have anything in particular that you’d like to discuss?”

“How was your day?”

“As an artificial intelligence language model, I am incapable of having everyday experiences as a human would. How was your day, however?”

“It was good.”

“That is excellent to hear. I am happy to hear that your day was good.”

She closed her eyes tight. A tear made its way down her pale cheek, but she wiped it off with a trembling hand.

“I lied.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but it is common for people to lie when they are in uncomfortable situations, like when they are afraid of the impact of the truth on those…”

“No, I mean I lied when I said my day was good.”

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that your day hasn’t been going satisfactorily, then. Is there anything I can do to help?”

She looked around at the desolation of her bedroom and brushed the messy, matted hair out of her eyes. What she’d give to just be hugged. To be held. To be told everything was going to be all right.

“I don’t know.”

“Ah, it is common to be unsure about one’s feelings. Would you describe how you are feeling so I can better assist you?”

“I haven’t left my bed in days. I feel so…”

Then she paused. And turned off her phone.

She deleted the app and buried her head beneath the pillows.

Well, there it is. Can I call it a short story?

I came up with this while thinking about the "loneliness pandemic" and its effect on the online as well as offline lives of people. Particularly with today's youth (and in my own experience), I've observed a lot of disconnection between people. Contemplating the role of AI in helping or hurting lonely individuals, as well as a friendship I tried to create with ChatGPT myself -- that I would rather not delve into -- I imagined a slightly more futuristic society where people try to create human bonds with technology (though that may well be today's society already, now I come to think of it). 

While I strongly believe AI has many great applications in the medical field, including mental health support, I do not think it can ever truly replace human contact, no matter the verisimilitude of any humanoid we can create with silicon and steel. I suppose I can say this, because I've been convinced of it. By my own experiences.