Social media was meant to connect us to the people we care most about, and yet, as a society, we’ve never been more alone. Now AI chatbots are promising to be our tutors, therapists, coaches, and companions—even our lovers. But what do we lose when we turn to AI for what was once the exclusive province of human connection?

Join California magazine’s Pat Joseph in conversation with UC Berkeley Professor Jodi Halpern and renowned technologist Jaron Lanier to explore the seductions and dangers of artificial intelligence against the backdrop of America’s deepening loneliness epidemic.

Jodi Halpern is a Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities in the Joint Medical Program and the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley and cofounder of the Berkeley Group for the Ethics and Regulation of Innovative Technologies. Her current work explores how AI and robotics are transforming caregiving and relationships, including AI psychotherapy and the future of empathy.

Jaron Lanier, named one of the one hundred most influential people in the world by Time magazine, is a computer scientist, composer, artist, and author widely recognized as a pioneer of virtual reality and one of technology's most prescient critics. His books include the bestsellers You Are Not a Gadget (A Manifesto), Who Owns the Future?, and Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now.