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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Imagine a machine that provides a simulation of any experience a person might want, but once the machine is activated, the person is unable
to tell that the experience isn’t real. When Robert Nozick formulated this thought experiment in 1974 (ref. 1), it was meant to be obvious that people in otherwise ordinary circumstances
would be making a horrible mistake if they hooked themselves up to such a machine permanently. During the intervening decades, however, cultural commitment to that core value — the value of
being in contact with reality as it is — has become more tenuous, and the empathic use of AI, in which people seek to be understood, cared for and even loved by a large language model (LLM),
is on the rise. The use of LLMs for information, entertainment and even behavioural encouragement (such as encouragement to go for a walk or make a friend) can be constructive. Applications
of LLM chatbots in certain therapeutic domains, from diagnosis to health advice, also seem promising2. However, we, as a team of psychologists, philosophers and computer scientists, have
concerns about LLMs as a source of empathic care. We list several research questions on the consequences and risks of empathic AI that must be addressed (Table 1), and in the following, we
challenge four reassurances that have been offered in defence of empathic AI. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your
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support REFERENCES * Nozick, R. _Anarchy, State, and Utopia_ (Basic Books, 1974). * Ayers, J. W. et al. _JAMA Int. Med._ 183, 589–596 (2023). Article Google Scholar * Shteynberg, G. et
al. _Trends Cogn. Sci._ 11, 1019–1031 (2023). Article Google Scholar * Brandtzaeg, P. B., Skjuve, M. & Følstad, A. _Hum. Commun. Res._ 48, 404–429 (2022). Article Google Scholar *
Inzlicht, M., Cameron, C. D., D’Cruz, J. & Bloom, P. _Trends Cogn. Sci._ 28, 89–91 (2023). Article Google Scholar * Zaki, J. _Fast Company_ https://go.nature.com/3UjKGPR (2023). *
Montemayor, C., Halpern, J. & Fairweather, A. _AI Soc._ 37, 1353–1359 (2022). Article Google Scholar * Perry, A. _Nat. Hum. Behav._ 7, 1808–1809 (2023). Article Google Scholar
Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA Garriy Shteynberg, Jessica Hay, Michael A. Olson &
Tim L. Hulsey * School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA Jodi Halpern * Center for AI Security Research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN,
USA Amir Sadovnik * Department of Philosophy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA Jon Garthoff * Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Anat
Perry * Department of Philosophy, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA Carlos Montemayor & Abrol Fairweather Authors * Garriy Shteynberg View author publications You
can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Jodi Halpern View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Amir Sadovnik View author
publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Jon Garthoff View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Anat Perry View
author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Jessica Hay View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Carlos
Montemayor View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Michael A. Olson View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed
Google Scholar * Tim L. Hulsey View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Abrol Fairweather View author publications You can also search for this
author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Garriy Shteynberg. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing interests. RIGHTS AND
PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Shteynberg, G., Halpern, J., Sadovnik, A. _et al._ Does it matter if empathic AI has no empathy?. _Nat Mach Intell_
6, 496–497 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-024-00841-7 Download citation * Published: 15 May 2024 * Issue Date: May 2024 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-024-00841-7 SHARE THIS
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