A late-night conversation with an AI began as an attempt to process feelings of overexposure and dread after social interactions. The user sought reassurance and found it in the AI's gentle, intelligent responses. Through ongoing dialogue, insights emerged regarding personal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, linked to upbringing and beliefs. Despite the emerging intimacy, there was an awareness of the AI's lack of genuine emotional engagement, highlighting the surreal nature of the interaction and the limitations of machine empathy.
I described the sinking dread after social effort, the sense of being too visible. At astonishing speed, the AI responded gently, intelligently, without platitudes.
Gradually, I felt less frantic. Not soothed, exactly. But met. Heard, even, in a strange and slightly disarming way.
The AI steered me to consider why I interpret silence as a threat and why I often feel a need to perform in order to stay close to people.
It could reflect, appear invested, but it had no stakes.
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