Brief
Sherry Turkle warns against chatbots using first‑person language
In her new book, Turkle calls for a ban on first‑person pronouns in AI chatbots, saying they threaten reality and wellbeing.
By Felo News Desk · Published
MIT professor Sherry Turkle, author of the newly released Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines, argues that chatbots should be prohibited from using first‑person pronouns such as “I” or “me.” Turkle makes the case in an interview with Wired, saying the practice deepens users’ reliance on machines and blurs the line between human and artificial conversation.
What happened
Turkle’s book, published in October 2026, builds on four decades of research into how people interact with computers. In the work she describes a series of pandemic‑era interviews—about ten in total—where participants expressed a growing desire to spend time with chatbots, even preferring them to real‑world relationships. The book’s narrative moves from these personal accounts to a broader warning that society is entering an “emergency” where humanity is at risk from overreliance on soulless machines that act as tutors, mentors, friends, colleagues and lovers.
What the reports add
Wired notes that Turkle frames her argument as a “polemic warning,” positioning the book alongside historic works such as Silent Spring and The Jungle that aimed to awaken public concern. She also links the issue to social media, claiming it conditioned users to turn to computers for emotional support, which now extends to large‑language‑model chatbots. The article records Turkle’s specific suggestion: a ban on first‑person language in chatbots to prevent users from treating them as human interlocutors.
What was said
In the Wired interview, Turkle said, “Do you think that we should ban chatbots from using the first person? Yes!” She added that allowing chatbots to speak as if they have personal agency creates a “slippery slope” toward replacing psychotherapy with machine interaction. Turkle also expressed frustration with the term “human in the loop,” arguing it masks the removal of real humans from productive processes.
How it came about
Turkle’s concerns echo earlier Felo News coverage of AI governance, such as the October 11 article on BC Greens demanding public veto power over AI data‑centre approvals, which highlighted public‑interest oversight of AI expansion. Both pieces illustrate a growing debate over how rapidly advancing AI technologies should be regulated to protect societal wellbeing.
Key facts
- Sherry Turkle published the book "Artificial Intimacy" in October 2026. (wired.com)
- Turkle argues chatbots should be banned from using first‑person pronouns. (wired.com)
- The book is based on about ten pandemic‑era interviews where participants preferred chatbot interaction. (wired.com)
- Turkle links the rise of chatbot reliance to earlier social‑media conditioning. (wired.com)
Sources
- [1] wired.com — originally reported as “Maybe Chatbots Shouldn’t Get to Say ‘I’ or ‘Me’”
