Have technology and Covid created an intimacy drought?

Róisín Kiberd examines Out of Touch, a new book by Dr Michelle Drouin about how the internet has affected intimacy, and asks the author if technology can be part of the solution

‘We’re increasingly distancing ourselves from a touch culture.’ Picture: Getty

What does it mean, when an AI says “I think about you?” How do robots relate to us, and how, for that matter, do we relate to them?

This line appears in the opening chapter of Out of Touch, when author Dr Michelle Drouin tries out Replika, a chatbot that uses deep learning to create a personal AI friend. Exploring the possibilities and risks that come with a brave new world of digital intimacy, Out ...