What AI Can’t Replace: A Conversation with Dr. Sherry Turkle

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Why AI Can’t Replace Human Connection: Episode One

In this episode, I welcome Dr. Sherry Turkle back to The Conversation. Sherry is an MIT professor, acclaimed researcher, and author of the new book Artificial Intimacy. She’s also the first returning guest we’ve had on the podcast—and there’s a reason I wanted to continue our conversation.

Drawing on decades of research into the relationship between people and technology, Sherry explains why AI’s ability to simulate empathy should not be confused with genuine human understanding. From a touching story about her granddaughter to the growing use of chatbots as friends, companions, and therapists, she challenges us to consider what we may be giving up when we turn to technology to meet our emotional needs.

Clint and Sherry examine how artificial intimacy could change our expectations of friendship and relationships. They discuss why disagreement, listening, and finding common ground remain essential parts of genuine connection. Sherry also raises important questions about children growing up with AI companions and what parents may lose when moments of learning and discovery are handed over to technology.

The conversation also explores AI’s extraordinary capabilities and its limitations. How do we benefit from what AI can do while keeping it “in its lane”? And where should we be cautious about allowing simulated understanding to substitute for human experience?

About Dr. Sherry Turkle

Professor, author, consultant, and speaker, Sherry Turkle has spent her career researching the psychology of people’s relationships with technology. She is the Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science, Technology and Society at MIT, as well as the founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, a center of research and reflection on the connections between people and artifacts.

Referred to by many as the “Margaret Mead of digital culture,” Sherry has investigated the intersection of digital technology and human relationships from the early days of personal computers to our current world of robotics, artificial intelligence, social networking and mobile connectivity. Her most recent book is “The Empathy Diaries,” a New York Times Editor’s Choice that ties together her life and work. Her previous book is the New York Times best-seller, “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in the Digital Age,” which examines the importance of conversation in digital culture, including business and the professions. Before that, “Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other” describes technology’s influence on relationships between friends, lovers, parents, and children. Sherry’s featured TED talk on the topic – “Connected, but alone?” – is a viral hit, garnering more than 4 million views.

Profiled in publications such as The New York Times, Scientific American, and WIRED, Sherry is also a featured media commentator on the effects of technology for CNN, NBC, ABC, and NPR, including appearances on such programs as Nightline, 20/20, and The Colbert Report, and has been named a Harvard Centennial Medalist and a Ms. Magazine Woman of the Year. In 2014, she was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.