I just had a kind of intense emotional exchange and I’m not sure whether it was with a robot or not

Author's note: this essay was written entirely 'by human'. Image by Manus

I’ve been a member of an online community for a couple of months. I’ve been to a handful of their events and have been participating in the online discussion boards on a semi-regular basis. I'm beginning to feel like I know people, especially the principal.

A couple of days ago I sent a message to their Support team asking for something that I needed and it was kind of an emotional issue for me. I received a reply two days later. It was an especially kind and thoughtful reply, reflecting the friendliness and moral character of the principal which had attracted me to the community. It seemed genuinely human. I responded warmly.

And then it occurred to me: I might be talking to a robot.

The rate of change in the world has been speeding up for a long time, and the rate of that acceleration has also been compounding. This might explain why our society is so youth-focused: young people - with their shorter lifetimes - experience time at an extended rate compared to older people. Time (like money) is proportional - the more you have, the less it counts. A week at age 20 passes at the same rate of a month for a 65 year old. Even taking that into account, the evolution of AI technology is staggering. 

It was just two or three years ago that I received an anxious message from a friend asking for money. I don’t normally cooperate in such cases, but she is my oldest friend. My only one from high school. And at first (of course) I thought it was a scam. But I was able to call her and verify in a live conversation that it was real, so I sent the money. 

I remember saying to someone at that time that the rate technology was going, it would soon be possible to fake that conversation. It would be possible to impersonate someone so convincingly, it’s undetectable by even closest friends and family. The imposter would sound exactly like my friend: her exact voice, her personality, her manner of speaking - even personal details about her life and mine.

That day has not only come (and gone), but you can do it live and in video. I know this because I took a class on how to do so last month.

The world is completely unprepared for this.