Kay Firth‑Butterfield, the CEO of Good Tech Advisory and a former chief AI ethics officer at the World Economic Forum, joins journalist Jennifer Schenker to map AI’s impact across every stage of life.
One astounding insight from their DLD26 conversation: More than a quarter of American men “are in an intimate relationship with a chatbot”, Firth‑Butterfield says. This relects a “loneliness epidemic” rooted in isolating effects of modern society – and AI systems are making it worse.
People who build emotional relationships with AI systems must understand that “your new lover has no empathy, doesn’t understand anything, doesn’t understand life, death, fear, any of those things”, Firth‑Butterfield emphasizes. “You are entering a life which is completely fake.”
She also notes that young children face data privacy threats from smart toys, while older students risk losing critical thinking skills by letting AI generate their coursework. Other AI risks include hallucinations and autonomous weapons systems.
Watch the video to explore this session in detail.
