An AI Chatbot Could Never Do This

We're about to pour hundreds of billions into AI companions. New research says leaning on chatbots for connection can leave us lonelier than we started. I've been torn on this myself. A friend told me her partner talks to AI like an old pal — I laughed, then tried it. There's a quick hit of validation when a chatbot tells you your anger is justified. But it never pushed back, no matter what I unloaded. It didn't know I actually like being challenged. We all reach for chatbots for different reasons — care, recognition, being seen. But I keep coming back to something simpler: sitting with another person and being heard is the antidote to so much of what we carry. That's why I want you to meet Al Nixon. AI's got nothing on him. You'll see why. The Understory is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber: https://thegoodconflict.substack.com/ Where to find us: Instagram: / thegoodconflict Tiktok: / thegoodconflict Facebook: / thegoodconflict LinkedIn:   / good.  . About: Good Conflict is a media company that takes the news and culture and pours psychology over it. We tell the kinds of stories we still have trouble finding in our media feeds: the ones that spark curiosity where there was none; that ignite hope where there was only fear; that make it possible to talk out loud about the unmentionable. We explore the deeper fears, desires and human dynamics that rarely surface in conventional media. We give people stories they can’t find anywhere else and explain the who, what and why these stories are written the way they are.