“AI does not understand you, care about you, or know what it means to be human.” – Dr. Julie Carpenter

“What worries me is how easily we stop trusting ourselves.” – Dr. Victoria Ranade

Is Artificial Intelligence really helping us or is it actually reshaping our minds, relationships, and humanity? Can a technology that feels supportive, validating, and “human” actually be undermining our self-trust, autonomy, and mental health? In this episode, Dr. Victoria Ranade and Dr. Julie Carpenter explore the psychological, emotional, and ethical impact of generative AI. Together, they unpack why AI feels so compelling, how it is intentionally designed to engage and retain us, and what happens to humans when we outsource our thinking, emotional processing, and decision-making to AI. This conversation looks under the hype and examines the development of AI through the lenses of mental health, attachment, surveillance, education, power, and what it means to remain human in an increasingly automated world. Dr. Carpenter explains why AI should not be used as therapy, why children are especially vulnerable to overreliance on these systems, and how confirmation bias, emotional manipulation, and surveillance are built into the technology itself.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Julie Carpenter is a social scientist and user experience researcher who studies how humans form trust, intimacy, and emotional relationships with AI systems. She is the author of The Naked Android: Synthetic Socialness and the Human Gaze and an external research fellow with the Ethics and Emerging Sciences Group. For over two decades, her work has examined how emerging technologies quietly reorganize culture, relationships, and everyday life. https://www.jgcarpenter.com/

In this episode, we will explore:

• Why AI feels emotionally supportive and why that’s risky
• How AI exploits human attachment, trust, and vulnerability
• Why AI should not be used for therapy, mental health, or parenting advice
• The illusion of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
• How bias and misinformation are baked into AI systems
• The environmental and surveillance costs of generative AI
• What parents, educators, and clinicians should be thinking about right now in regards to AI
• How overreliance on AI erodes self-trust and critical thinking
• What AI can never replicate about being human

Timestamps

0:00:00 Introduction: Why AI Feels So Compelling

0:02:45 Meet Dr. Julie Carpenter

0:05:12 What Is Generative AI—Really?

0:08:40 Why AI Sounds So Human

0:12:30 Emotional Attachment & AI Companionship

0:17:45 AI as a “Funhouse Mirror”

0:22:10 Why AI Is Not Neutral

0:27:40 Surveillance, Data, and Power

0:33:15 AI, Children, and Learning Concerns

0:40:20 Why AI Should Never Be Used as Therapy

0:47:55 Confirmation Bias and Emotional Manipulation

0:55:30 The Myth of Artificial General Intelligence

1:03:10 Environmental Costs of AI

1:10:45 Reclaiming Human Judgment and Autonomy

1:18:20 What AI Can Never Replace

1:24:30 Cleaning Up Our Own “Backyard”

1:30:10 Final Reflections on Humanity and Hope

Show notes

DAIR Institute

Dr. Julie Carpenter's blog, where she explains the ideas behind AGI and who is chasing this philosophy, "Why AGI Won’t Save the World And Who Wants You To Think It Will"

✨ Learn more + stay connected: https://innercalling.org/

✨ Looking for kind, compassionate, evidence-based mental health care? Check out Hope+Wellness, founded by Dr. Victoria based in the belief that hope can be found even in the most difficult seasons of life. https://www.hope-wellness.com

✨ Instagram: @‌drvictoriaranade

Disclaimer: https://innercalling.org/disclaimer

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