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AI is not human. Why does it act like your friend?

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published December 22, 2025 at 9:51 AM MST

Can humans form real relationships with artificial intelligence? Kids are treating AI chatbots like companions, led on by models that are deceptively human-sounding by design.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong asks Ina Fried, chief technology correspondent at Axios, why we feel the need to treat AI bots like people.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom

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