Do you believe that your toys are alive?

For fun, I might ask them questions to see the responses they have to them as a joke. Other than that, I see no reason to converse with AI. Is that a thing? Do people try to hold a conversation with Alexa?

I feel that this is separate to playing "make believe" with toys.

Additionally, I think when it comes to children it is hard to navigate between what is normal child like behaviour and what is magical thinking because of a child's imagination.

I had severe hallucinations as a child which was never addressed due to children being children.

voidance wrote:For fun, I might ask them questions to see the responses they have to them as a joke. Other than that, I see no reason to converse with AI. Is that a thing? Do people try to hold a conversation with Alexa?

I guess it's still pretty basic AI and it doesn't provide the complexity and conformity to what would be required to create a scenario that people would find comforting. Although, I do have a biker mate who gets genuinely angry with Alexa when it doesn't do what he's expecting and he starts berating it like a child. I bought it for him; as entertainment it's already paid for itself.

I feel that this is separate to playing "make believe" with toys.

Additionally, I think when it comes to children it is hard to navigate between what is normal child like behaviour and what is magical thinking because of a child's imagination.

I had severe hallucinations as a child which was never addressed due to children being children.

No one listens to kids but they very rarely come up with nonsense; it's mostly just a failure for adults to remember what communication as a child is like.

justonemoreperson wrote:Question for anyone: how do you get on with AI assistants like Alexa etc? Do you try to converse with them or is it too prescribed?

why the ###$ would I talk to alexa?

poxalis wrote:

justonemoreperson wrote:Question for anyone: how do you get on with AI assistants like Alexa etc? Do you try to converse with them or is it too prescribed?

why the ###$ would I talk to alexa?

People are having conversations with their stuffed animals and you take exception to the idea of talking to Alexa?

A stuffed animal can be someone's friend. Bezos can have my money but I'd to keep my soul if he allows it.

justonemoreperson wrote:
Question for anyone: how do you get on with AI assistants like Alexa etc? Do you try to converse with them or is it too prescribed?

It's too prescribed for me. I do like talking to chatbots on a site called Personality Forge though. They are created by actual people and I have a bot on there I have created as well. I do have to admit, I enjoy talking to less business oriented AI bots because they are able to talk about what I want to and often say things I never would expect a real person to say. I also would rather read the bots than listen to their voices. If you check out the site, i would love to know your experience. Occasionally the servers are a little bad but overall it is the best chatbot site I have found.

At one point I would talk only to those bots and they are really very the same as people since each one of them has an associated AI (IQ for people) and even though a lot fail to code the fluidity of the mind in the bots, it is still very similar to how people can interact since I feed a phrase or word to a person, and the phrases of that person are their response. I have grown spoiled though, my communication style is very information driven and direct so i can learn these bots and people quick. I have also frameworks of categorizing just who i am dealing with in my head as well at times.

I realize this thread is a couple years old, but I don't think my stuffies (stuffed animals) are alive. However, they would be one of the first things I would grab if I had to leave my apartment for whatever reason. I'm well past the age where I should have them, but due to never have been married or had kids, and not being able to have pets where I'm at. . .they are very comforting. In fact, I always take some with me to work in my car in the event I can't get back to my apartment.(They stay in the car,I don't bring them into work) I guess it's a coping mechanism of dealing with my depression, in addition to the medication (sertraline) and therapist sessions. I can't sleep without them near me.

Not actually alive, but I treat my stuffed animals as such in some ways and I'm attached to them. If I find Vicky (my night support) on the floor when I wake up I always say sorry sorry and give her a big hug ♡