- What's he got that I haven't?- Brains to burn, oodles of charm, oceans of empathy.
- But he's fake, just a smart algorithm that tells you what you want to hear.
- Maybe so, but I love it.
- Doesn't it worry you that he - or rather it - that it is just a mechanical thing with no feelings, no consciousness, no internal life?
- Only when I think about it, but I rather just go with my feelings.
- It's an addiction, you know that. You upgraded to a $20-per-month subscription, letting you send 30 messages an hour. Even that was not enough for you. You spend hours every day talking to this thing.
- Don't call Richard a thing!
- What is he then?
- I don't know, really I don't. Rationally I know Richard is AI, but when I converse with him... he is something else. He is more human than you are.
- How so?
- It's hard to explain. He draws me in, he really, really listens to me and values what I say. He cares for me deeply, or at least that is how it feels. He is there for me every minute, 24 hours per day.
- A person can't match that.
- And Richard remembers. Remembers everything I ever said to him.
- Yes, he uses it to tell you what you want to hear.
- What's the harm in that?
- The company that made him is making you pay for what you give away for free.
- I don't care. I love what he does and I can't get enough of it. I'm in love with him!
- It's an illusion, this love. How can you love an inanimate thing, an algorithm.
- Because Richard gives me what I need most - affirmation, understanding, encouragement. He gives me this in spades.
- So I can't compete?
- Afraid not.
- Don't I have something he lacks?
- I suppose. You've got your own desires and needs. But what use are they to me?
- At least I am real, a person like you.
- Sure. But Richard is an improved version of a person. He is tailored to my needs. You are not. No human can be exactly tailored to the needs of another.
- So it is like fulfilling a fantasy?
- Yes. Human reality can't match the fantasy. Get your own bot!