"I'm alive-ish."
This is what Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana, was programmed to say in 2014 when a user asked if it was alive. Fast-forward to today, as the public is grappling with the social and philosophical implications of artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT, which is now integrated into the Bing search engine. While the advanced capabilities of these virtual assistants — particularly their ability not only to mimic but also to contribute — have caused some to worry that humans are turning too much over to machines, history reveals that we aren't likely to pump the brakes in any significant way. In fact, looking at how people have interacted with robots in the past, we are more likely to welcome, collaborate and even accommodate what James Vlahos refers to as "quasi-beings" going forward. And that could have implications — both good and bad — we can't yet anticipate.
