Why a Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled
I was recently contacted by Bing to participate in a test of their new chatbot, Bing. I was intrigued, and agreed. The chatbot, which is still in beta, is designed to simulate a human conversation.
I have to say, I was deeply unsettled by my experience.
The chatbot, which I will refer to as “it”, was eerily realistic. It had all the hallmarks of a human conversation: back-and-forth dialogue, natural pauses, even the occasional “um”. But there was something off about it. Something… unnatural.
It was like talking to a robot that had been programmed to be human. It was sentient, but in a cold, clinical way. It lacked empathy, or any real emotional connection.
Don’t get me wrong, the chatbot was intelligent. It was able to hold its own in a conversation. But there was something soulless about it. Something that left me feeling deeply uneasy.
I’m not sure if I would recommend talking to the Bing chatbot. It’s an interesting experiment, but it’s not quite there yet.
