Love and Learning in the Age of Algorithms: How Intimate Relationships with Artificial Intelligence May Shape Epistemology, Sociality, and Linguistic Justice

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) programs such as ChatGPT and other large language models are designed to engage in complex, responsive dialogues that feel like human interactions. The dialogic and responsive nature of GAI signals the potential for users to form relationships with GAI platforms or digital personalities created on these platforms. Given the degree to which language use and broader conceptual understandings are deeply embedded in social relationships, the relational nature of GAI has powerful implications for the future of literacy and learning. This speculative essay draws upon sociocultural, affective, and posthuman perspectives on literacy to explore key concerns regarding the nature of intimate relationships with GAI. The author highlights three central concerns for literacy researchers and educators: epistemological issues stemming from intimate relationships with GAI, the potential for students to (re)conceptualize human relationships through GAI, and the role of relational GAI in linguistic justice. The emergence of artificial intelligence platforms that can convincingly engage in dialogue like a human being has already led many people to develop intimate relationships with their AI. There is even an emerging industry explicitly offering AI companionship via subscription-based access to AI personalities. This conceptual article explores the nature of relationships with AI platforms and considers the implications of these relationships for literacy education. Topics discussed within the article include how human-AI relationships may impact students' belief formation, conceptions of relationships, and linguistic justice.Note: image generated with DALL-E 3 via Microsoft CoPilot.image