Introducing: Artificial Intimacy from CBC’s Understood

Introducing: Artificial Intimacy from CBC’s Understood

From No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp by Tokens Media

May 20, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

The episode explores the complex relationships between humans and chatbots, examining the implications of digital intimacy.

NSE Present CBC's Understood. What happens when a human becomes intimately enmeshed with a chatbot? From people who’ve married their bots or who grieve their loved ones with the help of AI, host Victoria Hetherington (author of The Friend Machine) dives into the stories of the people who have invited these digital avatars into their hearts, minds, and even beds. And asks what do we gain and what do we stand to lose? Our intimacy, our resilience, even our grasp on reality? Understood takes you deep inside the seismic shifts reshaping our world right now. From online porn and crypto chaos to the rise of tech oligarchs, deepfake AI, and the broken promises of the internet — we explore the stories that define our digital age with hosts and characters embedded in the heart of the action. More episodes of Artificial Intimacy are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/UAIxNSE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Victoria Hetherington

Topics covered

  • artificial intelligence
  • intimacy
  • digital relationships
  • technology
  • society
  • grief
  • online culture

Keywords

  • chatbot
  • AI
  • intimacy
  • digital age
  • relationships
  • grief
  • technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CBC, Artificial Intimacy, Tokens Media

Books & works: The Friend Machine

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