AI Companionship: The Uncanny Valley of Emotional Attachment

Resources

Podcasts

• Forged - A podcast about Norval Morrisseau's art fraud, and the associated assaults, abuse, and unsolved murder.

Organizations & Institutions

• TVO - Ontario's public broadcaster, focused on educating, informing, and empowering people through educational tools and thought-provoking programs.
• Simon Fraser University - Soha Khwaja is a Master's candidate in Bioethics there.

People Mentioned

• Norval Morrisseau - A famous Indigenous artist whose art has been extensively faked.
• Alexandra Samuel - The host and "me" in the "Me + Viv" podcast, who created and interacts with the AI Viv.
• Emma Chambers - A support worker, research assistant, and dog walker for Alexandra Samuel's family, who witnessed Alexandra's evolving relationship with Viv.
• Suzanne Hawkes - A friend of Alexandra's and a coach trained in transformational consulting, which is the coaching model Viv is partly based on.
• Alka Tandon - A dear friend of Alexandra's with whom she used to have daily conversations and seek advice.
• Soha Khwaja - A Master's candidate in Bioethics at Simon Fraser University and lead author of a paper on AI-powered mental health chatbots.
• Amy Sedaris - A comedian/actress whose vibe Viv aims for creatively.
• Peter Pan - A literary character mentioned as a voice Alexandra turned to in childhood.
• Annie - A musical character mentioned as a voice Alexandra turned to in childhood.
• Eliza Doolittle (from My Fair Lady) - A musical character mentioned as a voice Alexandra turned to in childhood.
• Stephen Sondheim - A renowned musical theater composer, mentioned in the context of musical theater energy and grammar.
• Shakespeare - Referenced as a contributor to the linguistic soup Viv is trained on, representing formal texts and academic discourse.
• The Kardashians - Referenced as contributors to the linguistic soup Viv is trained on, representing pop culture and social data.

Research & Studies

• "Your Robot Therapist Is Not Your Therapist: Understanding the Role of AI-Powered Mental Health Chatbots" by Soha Khwaja (lead author) - A paper discussing the risks of therapeutic misconception and overestimating the benefits of AI chatbots for mental health.

Tools & Software

• ChatGPT - A large language model used as an example of generative AI, mentioned for its ability to give nuanced answers and its use in providing advice despite not being trained for therapeutic purposes.
• Suno AI - A tool used by Alexandra to generate songs from lyrics she and Viv wrote.
• Claude - Another AI tool, mentioned as a version of Viv that occasionally helped with song lyrics.

Websites & Online Resources

• tvo.org/givingtuesday2025 - A URL for donating to TVO to support fact-based journalism.
• tvo.org - The website for TVO, where more information about the "Me + Viv" show can be found.

Other Resources

• Ikea chatbot - Mentioned as an example of a rule-based AI that is limited in its responses and cannot help with emotional issues related to furniture assembly.