From Bots to Bonds: The Moral, Social, and Design Dimensions of AI Companionship (sample class)

Lecture Description:
In this session, Professor Banks will explore how people perceive, trust, and form relationships with AI companions, and the profound implications for design, ethics, and society. Drawing from her research at the Syracuse University iSchool, she will share insights on why humans sometimes experience AIs as “friends,” what happens when those relationships end, and how we can build responsible and healthy technologies for the future.

About the Speaker:
Jaime Banks, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Syracuse University iSchool. Her research examines human relationships with social technologies, including AI companions, social robots, and video game characters. She focuses on how people perceive machine minds, form moral judgments about AI behavior, and understand complex technologies. Her work has been funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Army Research Office, and the National Science Foundation.