Okay, so being transparent, this is the episode I was hoping I would never have to release, let alone make yet. Here we are. Okay. So as we're recording this episode, there is a lot of talk about AI, which we know is artificial intelligence. Now, you may be on any end of the spectrum, when it comes to AI, you may be loving the idea of it obsessed with it wants to know everything about it, one to infuse it into your life as much as possible. Or you could be on the very opposite end, thinking, I don't even know what AI does other than its name, everything else about it is foreign. And no matter where you land, the plane, on your knowledge of AI, it is becoming part of our lives, period will be a mainstay is not leaving. And so because of this new infusion of AI, into life in society, as we know it, we need to talk about how it's going to impact our relationships. Because if you don't think it's going to impact your relationships, I'm sorry to say, you are dead wrong. And we have enough data and evidence pointing to it already. And we're just at the very beginnings of what AI can do. So I'm going to first share what ignited the genesis of this episode, because there have been a ton of news articles out there, many of which are talking about how people are finding creative ways to use AI. And many of them have to do with finding ways to use AI to supplement their income. And there was actually an article released last month. And I'm just gonna give you the headline of this article from Fortune magazine. It says a 23 year olds Snapchat influencer, used open AI technology to create an AI version of herself. That will be your girlfriend for $1 per minute. Yeah, that is a real headline. This was not from the onion or a fake news source. This is an actual thing that has happened and continues to happen. People are using AI to outsource meat. The problem with that is AI cannot replace human needs, such as needs for connection. And what's crazy about this article is you could pay $1 a minute to interact with her. And I'm saying this in air quotes. Because it wasn't actually this influencer, it's obviously an AI bot that they spent hundreds of hours training to use the same dialect and dialogue as if you were talking to her directly. And this has a huge downwind effect to it. One she made $70,000 In the first week this launched. So you could be listening to this right now thinking what a stupid idea who would pay for that a 1000s of people paid for it for this experience. And this brings to the forefront the fact that we are entering an era where you could be having a conversation where you're DMing or texting, and you think you think you're actually talking to a person, but you are not. You are talking to an AI bot instead. So that's a little concerning, right? Because that can't replace the need for human interactions in our lives. And I keep referencing this even at the top of this episode, because you have probably heard by now about this loneliness epidemic. And I say that because it is getting a lot of media attention right now because there have been some undeniable and heartbreaking studies revealing just how lonely we are, as a society and even the study, most recently that has proven that loneliness on the body has the same impact and effect as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. So this feels like there's a lot of like bad news right there. Talking about, yes, we have a problem. And yes, we need to figure out what we're going to do to solve that problem. Because the more that we're infusing tech into our lives, it's okay if we infuse, but if we use tech as the replacement, that's where we're getting into trouble. Okay, another news piece that just recently happened is Apple vision Pro. You have probably heard about this as well, because it's getting a ton of media attention taking the world by storm because of what this is, let alone its price point. And for those of you that don't know, it is a mixed reality headset, blending both virtual and augmented reality. Now, what's interesting about virtual and augmented reality is it's a form of reality that isn't actually reality. So that's a little bit interesting. And I was taking a look at the vision pro just to see what Apple was saying about it. And let me be clear, I love Apple products. I'm using multiple Apple things right now in the studio. So I was a bit surprised when I was reading straight off of the vision pro homepage, you can scroll down look right now and find it yourself. To read this. It says a kind of header of stay connected to people around you, which I looked at and I was like, interesting, open to it. Want to hear more, because I'm thinking, Okay, this headset is going to help you stay connected with people around you probably by blending video chat elements to it right. Let me explain to you what Apple's website says it does. To help you stay connected to people around you direct quote, Vision pro helps you remain connected to those around you eyesight, it's the name of it, reveals your eyes and lets those nearby know when you're using apps are fully immersed in an experience. When someone approaches vision pro simultaneously lets you see the person and reveals your eyes to them. It helps you stay connected to people because it shows people your eyeballs if you are in the middle of an experience or not. I'm a little bit confused by that. And honestly a little bit saddened by that because that, to me doesn't create any sort of meaningful connection, let alone a connection point with another human being. Because if I saw someone wearing goggles on their head, flipping their head around back and forth like they're doing something else, I'm probably not going to be so excited about approaching them to take them away from what they're doing, because it's going to appear as if they are very busy. So those little disheartening to read. And because I kind of want to stay up with everything that AI is all about. And let me be clear, I am by no means an expert. In fact, I'm very new to the space myself, I use chat GPT a little bit here and there. I'm kind of learning how to use it to help me with some basic prompts and stuff like that. But there was recently an episode on the diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett. And he was interviewing Moe good. And he was the ex Google officer. And it was actually titled in emergency episode, and I want to share a little bit about it. Because if you have the time, or are interested in AI, it's almost a two hour episode. And it was very informative and very insightful and very alarming as well. So basically, this emergency episode is about the ex Google officer speaking out on the dangers of AI. And it was really mind blowing, to be honest, because you have someone who played a part in creating AI. Now wanting to send a message to the world of we need to stop or at least slow down because this is about to have a monstrosity of catastrophic effects on humanity, if we do not. Now, the episode doesn't end with just that he talks about ways in which we can help and some of the interesting pieces he was discussing was how you can train your AI and he talks about this example of being a good parent Eric wrote to your AI in training it in the right way in an ethical manner, which I don't really want to get into much here. But he brought up some really interesting points about it. So I think it could be worth a listen. But at the very end of the episode, there was one quote that I want you to listen to, because this was the piece that really shocked me. And what you're about to hear is a clip from this episode, the podcaster, Steven Bartlett, and Mogadon the ex Google officer, talking about the next imperative steps that we, as a society need to take. So let's take a listen. Make it a priority, engage, tell the whole world that's making another phone. That is making money for the corporate world is not what we need. Tell the whole world that creating an artificial intelligence that's going to make someone richer, is not what we need. And if you are presented with one of those don't use it. I don't know how to tell you that any other way. If you can afford to be the master of human connection, instead of the master of AI, do it. If you can afford to be the master of human connection, do it. That is really crazy to hear from someone who has spent his entire career working in technology, moving away from human connection. Now saying that this is one of the most important things we can do is become masters of connection. And at the beginning of episode, I talked about how AI is already impacting our relationships. Here's here's a good example of clunky artificial intelligence, when you call a customer service line, and you're put through all of these prompts, right, and you have these bots, trying to figure out what you're saying in order to put you on the correct path. And how often do you get 30 seconds into this and just start screaming operator customer service representative. Let me talk to a real human, you're just screaming something right, you're like I am so sick of this. Now, that is going to be a problem that is no longer in existence pretty soon here, because AI is getting so much smarter at a pace that is mind blowing. In fact, in the episode, they talked about how AI has the IQ right now of four percentage points higher than even Albert Einstein. And it's learned this in months time, like not years time, in months time. So it is going to become really powerful. COVID showed us what isolation does to the human spirit, and psyche. And a lot of us had to rely on technology in order to communicate and keep our relationships intact, virtually. But what damage it did to our hearts and our minds in the process because of how we are created for connection. I mean, we go back to our ancestors in tribes, we stick together, if you were alone, and you were isolated, you would literally die. And right now we're experiencing the same thing, but in a completely different realm entirely. And what's really important for you to know is that AI, it mimics genuine interactions from humans. So it's learning from experience that it's getting from humans. And there is definitely a dark side to this. In fact, there is this app website. And I actually don't want to name it on here, because that would be giving a shout out. And if anything, I want to give it a shout down because it's been in existence since 2017. And it is a site where basically, you create a relationship with an AI bot. And that sounds so crazy. But hundreds of 1000s of people. Have you used this tool to outsource literal relationships going so far as marrying their AI A Chatbot. And here's what I'd like to say, we have become so concerned about being safe, that it's now become dangerous. This is a perfect example of it is we're outsourcing our relational needs, for fear of getting hurt. So we turn to a robot or an artificial element of intelligence, instead hoping that that will keep us safe. But it's actually doing more damage to us. And this article that I was reading about this website was talking about things such as you can break up with your AI, boyfriend, girlfriend, you can divorce them, the intelligence is so compelling and strong on there, with the interactions that you're having with this AI chatbot, that even the breakup conversations feel very real. And of course, by that point, if you have created this emotional bond with something, it's going to feel very real. And I just find that super ironic, because if we're so afraid of getting hurt by people, why are we now getting hurt by artificial intelligence, which really, I think brings to the forefront, this important concept of there is no way to fully protect yourself from getting hurt. No matter what you choose, in life, there is always going to be a risk of some sort involved a yes to one thing is a no to other things. And we really have to be thinking through what am I going to say yes, to what risks are worth taking, life is super short. We can often forget that I'm definitely guilty of that, but then you lose a loved one. And that comes into focus again. And, you know, they did a study on the top Regrets of the Dying. And on that list, one of the five that was consistently mentioned, was the regret of I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. My concern is that we use non human tools to replace what only humans can do and can bring in our lives. We can't outsource relationships and think it will work because it will not work. It's artificial, it's augmented, it's virtual. None of these things are tactile, tangible, reality. So how can we become the masters of human connections? So I have a couple of thoughts here. One of them is fighting for in person connection by going first. And I mean, going first, because this might be a hard pill to swallow. But if we're lonely, that's our fault. And we need to take responsibility for that because we're the only ones that can get us out of being lonely as well by making a concerted effort to put ourselves literally out there in society in the world, and not holed up in our houses, in in our laptops and on our phones, and on everything that takes us away from other real live breathing human beings. We have two innate desires as humans and it's to be fully known and fully loved. Artificial intelligence can fully know you. But let me make this abundantly clear. So that we never forget. It cannot fully love you ever. If we outsource it and find ourselves in a situation that makes us feel that way, that feeling isn't real. You can't be fully loved by something that can't get hurt. Think about that. Ai can't be hurt. They don't have emotions and feelings. At least not yet. And I hope we don't get to that point. We can learn to ask meaningful questions and have deep, thought provoking conversations. And I actually want to shout out one of our sponsors, which is party cues, because it's the number one questions app. And I know that a lot of people are really fearful of interacting or talking to another person for the first time, because I'm so awkward, and what will I say and this entire podcast is to help you in those instances, and to help give you the confidence, courage, and resources and tools that you need. And, you know, party cues is a perfect example of a tool that can help with that, because it's a technology supplement, you can use. It's the number one questions app, you can go on, I use it frequently. I love it, where it comes up with 32 different categories of questions in which you can ask someone to start a conversation to ultimately punch awkward silences in the face, and they actually have a web app now, as well, which I love. So you can do this in your workplace if you have icebreakers or some need, or you know, some function where you get together as a group on Zoom calls, etc. This is a great way to get to know the people in your life, if you just get so overwhelmed. Thinking about I wouldn't even know what to ask, I wouldn't even know what to say. So one part of us is your answer, I'm actually going to have a link in the bio for you as well, because it's free. So you definitely are going to want to download it, check it out, use it and watch relationships in your life start to flourish as a result of going there with people. But I mean seriously, think about, there's an intrinsic reward that we feel when we can support and help and walk alongside others. When someone says to you, hey, I need your advice on something. What immediately happened? You're like, Oh, all right, I'm here. Let's go. I can't wait to help with something. Because there's a reward there because you got to be part of something meaningful for someone else. And AI, can't do that for us. Certainly not in the same way it can help but they, there's no reward for it. And I just want us to keep this in focus. You are worth having incredible, meaningful, rich relationships. You're worth it. And if you're in a circumstance in your life where you move to a new city, you're in a new phase in life, you started a new job, there's a ton of excuses. reasons we can come up with for I just not right now. Like it's not really I can't really do that. I can't really extend myself or branch out like that right now. Well, the longer you wait, the worse it's going to get. Studies have proven this loneliness, depression, anxiety, suicide through the roof. At what point are we all going to collectively decide to take accountability and responsibility for going out and creating these connections with other people in our lives? It's not like I'm talking to you from some high place where I'm out of touch from reality. This was me, I was this person. In college, I had no friends. And so I made a New Year's resolution to eat a meal with a stranger every single day on my college campus, get to know them, get to know their story, and reverse this curse in my life of having no friends. And it taught me how to build rich relationships in the process. But I had to go through the pain of being awkward fumbling over words, looking silly, looking dumb, probably feeling extremely uncomfortable to now knowing that there's so much more richness and vibrancy in my life, because of the relationships that are a huge part of it, if not the most important part of it. So fighting for human connection by going first and having meaningful conversations wanting to go Beneath the surface level, one layer deeper. This can even be the challenge for you. What's a question? I can ask to a friend today, even via text? If I don't have any time for anything else, right now, what is one question? I can ask your friend to go one layer deeper. And you can use the barbecues app to help you with those questions if you need. But again, technology should never replace. It should always an only be a supplement. And you can take it from me, right? And you might be like, cool, we got it. Let's move on with it. Well, I asked Jack GBT to actually discuss this topic. And I wanted to hear its insight. And for those that may not know Jack GBT is one of the biggest pieces of AI that is used right now. And so what I prompted chat GPT with was, how can AI help my relationships? Now it gave me this huge like, essay with six ways in which AI could help my relationships. And some of them were eye rolling, quite honestly. But I'm going to read you verbatim. The bottom paragraph of what GPT said to me in response to this prompt. Again, the prompt was, how can AI help my relationships, this is what it said. However, it's important to note that AI should complement aka supplement, rather than replace human interaction and emotional connection. Ultimately, the success of a relationship depends on genuine human connection, empathy, and understanding. AI can provide helpful tools and insights, but it's essential to prioritize open communication, active listening, and nurturing your relationships through direct human interaction. Dang, you have just heard it from a eyes mouth directly. Ai should not replace human relationships. And we can't let it replace them as well. We can use it as a tool to supplement our relationships. But we need to be very careful to not let it be the end all be all. So that being said, we have a choice to make. Are we going to prioritize the people in front of us in our lives? Are we going to make building rich relationships a priority in our life? The choice is yours. And mine. The choice is ours. And for me, I'm committed to continuing to build rich relationships. And I hope you're down for this mission too. Because this is what this podcast is all about. And you're worth it. Let's build