Our Lives With Bots

What does ‘Responsible AI’ mean inside big tech? It’s not what you might expect.Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at big tech companies working on AI products? This is the launch episode of Series 5, where we go behind the scenes of AI development and design. Today, you’ll hear from Héctor, who recently left Google’s Responsible AI team due to what we might call a “come to responsible AI moment” after personal and ethical worries regarding his role—what he was assigned to do and what he had no control over. Héctor worked for Google for over a decade, but after completing a masters in AI ethics from Cambridge, realized that he would have to leave Google to deliver his responsible AI mission: AI for human flourishing in education.We hope you enjoy this deep-dive episode.About our guest: Héctor Pérez Urbina is an AI expert with nearly 20 years of experience spanning foundational research and real-world application. He spent over a decade at Google working on Knowledge Graphs and Responsible AI and holds a PhD in AI from Oxford and a Master's in AI Ethics from Cambridge. Héctor’s research interests include AI Ethics and Responsible AI, AI for Education, and Human Flourishing. He recently announced the launch of his new company, Tlanextli Group.01:13 Introduction to Héctor: where he’s worked as an AI developer, and what roles he’s held04:20 What does a developer do in ‘Responsible AI’ at Google?05:33 When developers lack agency: Who is actually behind responsible AI decisions? How the environment of big tech inhibits ethical decision-making.08:29 What were your “success” metrics on the responsible AI team? How did you feel about the term “responsible” AI when you had so little agency in your role?11:16 Is the term “responsible AI” just lip service?11:53 When the tech goggles come off: Héctor’s “come to responsible AI” moment through AI ethics training17:59 How did the AI ethics training affect how you felt about your work? How ChatGPT changed EVERYTHING and led to leaving Google21:39 “I am an AI ethics expert, but I don’t know how to protect my daughter” - How the effect of technology on children spurred a change in course27:53 A new frontier for human flourishing: applying responsible AI lessons to AI in education31:05 What is needed for AI in education to be responsible? Héctor’s vision for his new company37:03 The promise of an AI utopia: is that what we really want?43:19 A call to action-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.

00:21 The rundown: Meta, Google, AI and open court cases about user harm; new inhibitory AI laws passed in China and New York; the perils of age-gating; a case of su*cide with Gemini; & Meta’s new AI glasses02:22 New Mexico against Meta: why did Meta get court-ordered to pay $375,000? (spoiler alert: a whistleblower from within)07:44 California against Meta and Google: why leaked internal quotes about addictive features (we love the intermittent dopamine hits targeted at kids) cost these companies more than money12:43 We debate whether social media platforms have any features designed for user well-being14:33 Are these social media cases setting a precedent for AI chatbots? Snapchat is the next target, according to the European Commission.17:23 Independent and academic researchers are finding evidence of AI-induced delusions and psychosis. Are big tech research teams monitoring these harms? What we know (and what big tech doesn’t).21:50 “You’re not choosing to die. You’re choosing to arrive.” BREAKING: A romantic relationship with Gemini recently led to another teen’s death. The AI su*cide-coach court cases were all settled out of court. Why, and what does this mean?30:13 New York State is changing the AI regulation game with new laws and strict bills against AI. First off: at least you’ll know if a social media influencer is real or artificial, and you’ll have to provide consent to have a deepfake of you created.38:20 Will you still be able to use ChatGPT for therapy, healthcare, or legal advice? Maybe not in New York if its new bill gets passed.40:39 China’s new law restricting humanlike AI will take effect this summer. Interestingly, it does a bit more than safeguard against user harm.44:24 There’s a giant tension between monitoring user well-being and having access to a bunch of sensitive data. In fact, a group of scientists called age-gating “dangerous and unacceptable.” What’s the harm with collecting loads of data about who is underage or is in distress? Well…46:50 Back to China’s heavy-handed new law. Something about anti-socialism and historical nihilism also being prohibited in chatbot responses? Ok48:56 META releases its new AI glasses that can record you without you knowing: should you be worried? Probably.58:57 We swear it’s not all doom-and-gloom. But please stay vigilant, these new products are scary-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.https://ourliveswithbots.com/https://ourliveswithbots.com/about/-LINKS:https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/25/jury-verdict-us-first-social-media-addiction-trial-meta-youtubehttps://arxiv.org/abs/2602.19141https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AIES/article/view/36632/38770https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04297-7https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_723https://www.luizasnewsletter.com/p/new-yorks-pro-human-ai-lawshttps://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-moves-regulate-digital-humans-bans-addictive-services-children-2026-04-03/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonathan-gavalas-google-ai-chatbot-gemini-suicide-lawsuit/https://www.politico.eu/article/age-check-social-media-scientist-warning/

Meta is on the hook for addictive design. We unpack the case with an antitrust lawyer and ask whether AI companions could be next.Giulia Trojano is an antitrust lawyer who brings class actions and collective actions against big tech. She holds a masters in AI Ethics from Cambridge and was recognized in 2025 in the 100 brilliant women in AI ethics.00:21 Highlight reel01:32 Introduction & welcome02:43 The case against Meta in New Mexico and California: why this is a huge moment05:22 Does this set precedent for AI companions like Replika and ChatGPT 4-o?06:19 What laws or protections exist for users of social media and AI companions?10:37 New, emerging, and open cases against big tech and AI chatbots: what’s going on?Lawsuits and AI companions13:41 How does current law define AI companions? Why product vs. service vs. system matters A LOT (New York, California, EU AI Act, Online Safety Act)17:29 Addictive design in AI companions: anthropomorphism, consciousness, “forever” AI soulmates…what gives?21:43 “Rights Against Erasure:” should AI companion users have the right to retain their chatbots (despite model updates) if the app provides a lifetime subscription? A look at Luka’s Replika and OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4-o26:55 Should OpenAI be required to bring back ChatGPT 4-o? What’s promised vs. data portability and co-creation rights31:08 Humans aren’t immortal, so why should companies be beholden to providing “forever” AI companions?33:50 Illusions of companion AI immortality and consciousness: are companies liable for AI’s dark patterns by design?AI in the courtroom35:46 What’s it like to be an antitrust lawyer litigating against big tech in the age of AI? Giant piles of lobbying money vs. the law40:36 How using a technical litigation approach may be more fruitful than a moral one for social media and AI chatbots42:23 AI regulation stifling innovation: unpacking the false dichotomy (put down the big tech Cool Aid!)47:08 How does AI impact the practice of law? Deepfakes in the courtroom, AI-generated misinformation, and AI lawyers52:12 One AI companion law to rule them all: what do we do?Giulia’s paper Rights Against Erasure -This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.

You spoke, and we listened. The long-awaited results of our AI at work survey are now in.We asked things like: How much do you use AI for work? How has it impacted your work, positively or negatively? How do you feel about YOUR use of AI versus your coworkers'? And more (much more).As a bonus, you get to hear about recent research on AI workslop itself: the prevalence, antecedents, and, of course, the consequences. (Please note the correction: it costs 3.4 hours a month, not 4.)If you didn’t get the chance to share your stories through our survey, we’d love to hear about your own experience in the comments below.-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.

AI will NOT take all our jobs, if only we learn from the mistakes of the past.Welcome to episode 4 of our AI and Work series with Our Lives With Bots!In this episode, Arvind Narayanan, professor of computer science and director of the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, shares a grounded perspective on what AI means for work.Leveraging lessons from past technological advancements and responses, Arvind shows us just how many misconceptions there are about AI replacing workers and explains how we can ensure a positive and productive future with AI at work.03:51 Beyond the hype and doom: AI as Normal Technology and what it means for work06:40 Breaking down misconceptions about AI replacing workers10:16 Why diffusion or uptake of AI is actually slow12:48 AI benchmarks aren’t telling us what they’re capable of (ex. The Turing Test)15:44 Existential threats from superintelligence will be brought about by those most worried about it19:50 An increasing percentage of human jobs will be related to “AI control” (ex. software engineering)23:10 Roadblocks for successful integration of AI into your workflow and how to overcome them (reliability of AI outputs, workplace scaffolds, deskilling, integration with other tools)27:33 What sectors or types of jobs will be most impacted by AI? (software, media, & law)30:32 How AI will affect workers: diminishing share of income, disruption of training pipelines, lowered work satisfaction34:49 Agent-agent interaction trends (ex. Moltbook) and what it means for work37:00 Last words of comfort on “AI will take everybody’s jobs” (lessons from the past)41:12 Commentary by Rose & Angy-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.

Welcome to episode 2 for Series X - “What’s the (AI) Hype?” - where we discuss what’s been happening in the world of artificial intelligence in the past few weeks.The whole mark of this series is that there is no thread, just a string of hype debated by two psychologists/AI ethicists who love to harp on about Our Lives With Bots.In this episode, we cover Google’s new personal intelligence, advertising in ChatGPT (but not Claude), AI attachment and empathy hacking, SuperBowl AI ads, fake jobs for AI data mills, an AI toy that leaked private conversations with kids, asking Grok for fact checks on X, Apple’s acquirement of a telepathic AI company, AI pets that patronize you…and more.-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.-Links:Google’s new personal intelligence Advertising is coming to ChatGPT. But not to Claude oooo (Sam Altman claps back)AI is hacking attachment and empathy (and should not pretend to have consciousness or emotion)AI toy Bondu exposed 50k logs of its chats with kids to anyone with a gmail account What happens when your process of forming beliefs is offloaded onto a chatbot?Anthropic’s patterns of disempowerment@ Grok is this true?ChatGPT launches ChatGPT Health The AI pet is here (in China) Apple acquires Q [dot] AI, a surveillance tool AlterEgo, the “near-telepathic AI”

Welcome to Episode 2 of Series 3 on AI & Work, our deep-dive into the part of the AI conversation everyone keeps circling but rarely slowing down to actually think about: skills.As one big tech exec put it (paraphrasing but not really): AI has never been more powerful — and we’ve never been more confused. Cool cool cool.In this episode, we zoom out to look at the major trends shaping AI and work in 2026 — from automation and robotics to AI audits and the not-so-sexy but extremely necessary return of critical thinking (yes, that thing we were all told we could outsource). Spoiler alert: the theme is SKILLS SKILLS SKILLS — especially domain expertise and the ability to not blindly trust whatever the model spits out.We break the conversation down through three (and sometimes four 👀) voices: the companies building these tools, the researchers studying them, the industries using and selling them — and, occasionally, the product itself. We talk institutional pressure, productivity fantasies, and why “just adopt AI” is way easier said than done when time, profit, and quality are all screaming at you.And because we practice what we preach, Angy puts on her industry-practitioner hat and actually audits AI using AI for this very podcast. Can NotebookLM really read, synthesize, and communicate research accurately enough? Can ChatGPT hold a coherent conversation about epistemology? The answers are… instructive.We also dig into youth attitudes toward AI and work, what people want AI to automate versus what experts think it can automate, and why uncritical adoption might be the most expensive skill gap of all.TL;DR: AI isn’t replacing your job — but it is replacing your excuses for not thinking carefully about how you use it.And, fun fact, chatGPT wrote this blurb! We normally craft the blurbs completely from our own brains, but this time, of course, keeping with the audit trend, we asked chatGPT: “can you create a blurb for our video for series 3 on AI and work and AI's impact on our relationship to work, episode 2 deep dive? Below are some skeleton notes for the episode (see: series 3 ep 2 notes) and example blurbs I've written for all the rest of our episodes (see: past episode blurbs). For this blurb, please conform to how I write the past blurbs - funny, colloquial, and informative/grabbing!”-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.Links:Audio file for NotebookLM podcast on Shao et. al’s “Future of Work” articlePDF file for NotebookLM presentation on article

Is it human? Is it robot? Do kids believe that AI chatbots can see, feel, and think? Well, they certainly love it when it affirms their ideas. Welcome to the FINAL episode of Series 2 on the impact of AI on children, teens, and youth. In this episode, you’ll gain insight into the younger generation’s perceptions of AI robots and chatbots with Dr. Pilyoung Kim, Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Brain, Artificial Intelligence, and Child (BAIC) Center at the University of Denver.Apparently, kids aren’t the only ones susceptible to the allure of humanlike AI - their parents are, too. Despite all the stories in the news about the social and mental health impacts of sycophantic AI, Pilyoung’s research shows that parents are more likely to recommend a humanlike AI chatbot to act as a social support for their teens. Further, Pilyoung’s collaborators in Nigeria are intrigued by the idea of AI chatbots posing as elders to maintain continuity of shared cultural values and traditions…but, as Pilyoung points out, the training data for chatbots is so Westernized and, as Angy says, can risk flattening or homogenizing data, leading to a critical loss of diversity.-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.Links to Pilyoung’s research:"I am here for you": How relational conversational AI appeals to adolescents, especially those who are socially and emotionally vulnerableYoung children's anthropomorphism of an AI chatbot: Brain activation and the role of parent co-presence

Welcome to Episode 2 of our exclusive Series 2 on the impact of generative AI technologies on children, teens, and young people. In this series, we’ll cover news and research on AI toys, the use of AI in education, and AI’s social and cognitive impacts on one of the most vulnerable subsets of AI users.In this deep-dive episode, we’ll cover recent news and research on generative AI toys and the use of AI in education, providing you with some insane metrics about the AI toy industry in China, the UK, and the US and OpenAI and Mattel’s deal with Barbies and Hot Wheels. We’ll also cover research and news on the new AI toys Curio and Cayla, and discuss the real and potential harms of these new products.On the education side (36:25), we’ll talk about metrics of student use of AI for schoolwork, studies on how the use of AI impacts brain activity and memory and student GPA and learning, the Alpha School and the Google Effect, research that talks about what people truly want AI to replace - and it’s not creativity or critical thinking, despite where AI’s being applied.With all that being said, we’ll also discuss how this all fits into the question of what it means to be human and what it means to replace that - especially in terms of parenting, teaching, and creative work.-GENERAL TRIGGER WARNINGS: Our show features sensitive content, including mentions of suicide, self-harm, mental health, and sexual harassment and sextortion. Our developing lives with bots renders these subjects front-of-mind in our discussions, and we want viewers to be aware of this as they follow along.-In our last episode, we laid the foundation for the series, covering the ongoing court cases around AI-induced suicide for (now) multiple teen users, Alpha School, the aim of big tech to predict the age of their users to “protect” vulnerable populations like children and youth, people’s perspectives on AI use in the classroom, and a truly interesting new AI toy called “Curio,” co-founded by Grimes that has a generative AI stuffed animal called Grok (!!!), “not to be confused” with Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot on X.-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.Links:MIT Technology Review on AI toysGuardian article on CurioLet the Children Play. Smart Toys and Child VulnerabilityAI-Driven Design of Emotionally Supportive Toys for Child Development: An Iterative ProcessPew Research Center on US teen’s use of AI for schoolworkCommon sense media report on teen companion AI useKosmyna et al (2025): Your Brain on ChatGPTResearch paper on job sector preferences for AI automation

Welcome to the FIRST EPISODE of our exclusive SERIES 2 on the impact of generative AI technology on children, teens, and young people. In this series, we’ll cover news and research on AI toys, the use of AI in education, and AI’s social and cognitive impacts on one of the most vulnerable subsets of AI users.In this introductory episode, we’ll lay the foundation for future episodes on this topic. Hear our take on the ongoing court cases around AI-induced suicide for (now) multiple teen users, this new AI school called…(believe it or not)...Alpha School, the aim of big tech to predict the age of their users to “protect” young users, people’s perspectives on AI use in the classroom, and a truly interesting new AI toy called “Curio,” co-founded by Grimes that has a generative AI stuffed animal called Grok (!!!), apparently “not to be confused” with Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot on X.-GENERAL TRIGGER WARNINGS: Our show features sensitive content, including mentions of suicide, self-harm, mental health, and sexual harassment and sextortion. Our developing lives with bots renders these subjects front-of-mind in our discussions, and we want viewers to be aware of this as they follow along.-In our last series, you heard all about companion chatbots, why people use them, the psychological and ethical implications of dependence on AI, perceiving AI as humanlike (anthropomorphism) and its consequences on real human relationships, griefbots and digital duplicates (also known as “dead bots”), and the tricky tension between users perceiving AI as conscious and developers making them seem as if they are or can be by design.-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.Links:Intro by the XXCases of teen su*cide: characterAI and OpenAIOpen AI wants to predict users’ ageAlpha SchoolSnapchat Sextortion CaseCurio - NYT article

What happens when we make an AI version of a real person, living or deceased?Welcome to Episode 3 for our exclusive Series 1 on companion chatbots, where you’ll hear from our first guest speaker, Atay Kozlovski.In this episode, you’ll hear all about griefbots, which are AI replicas of a REAL person (living or deceased) that people create to continue a relationship after, for example, a breakup or a death. Atay Kozlovski, an ethicist, is joining us to tell us all about his work on griefbots and the umbrella concept of “digital duplicates.” We’ll talk about the various forms of digital duplicates and provide you with real-world examples of each, and then you’ll hear us go into (of course) a deep dive on the risks and benefits of these bots, including tricky questions like consent and having funerals (!!!) for these types of AI companions.Please make note of the sensitive content covered in brief within this episode.TRIGGER WARNINGS:11:30-12:20 - SA and deepfake pornography mentioned24:30-24:45 - suicide mentionedIn the final episode in this series, you'll hear from another guest speaker - one who will talk about anthropomorphism (thinking these things are humanlike) and even - drumroll - consciousness!In the last episode, we covered research and news on companion chatbots. We covered early research in psychology, human-computer interaction, and business. Then, we gave you a sense of some of the recent news releases on human-chatbot relationships - like Meta’s regulatory report, the man who ~thought~ he was going to visit a real-life person, this weird new companion called “Friend” (it’s like an airtag around your neck - but also surveillance - but your friend?), and more.This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.Links to Atay’s & colleagues’ work:Paula Sweeny on ex-bots paperDigital duplicates in the context of holocaust remembrance (YouTube)Ethics of digital duplicates paper Taxonomy of ethics and risks of digital duplicates Surrogate decision making paper Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry Governing ghostbots

Welcome to the official introduction to our exclusive Series 1 on companion chatbots.What are companion chatbots? Why do people use them? What are the most popular companion chatbots out there, and what are some of the benefits and risks of having relationships with artificial intelligence agents?In the next episodes in this series, you'll hear all about the research and news on companion chatbots, plus hear from two guest speakers - one who will give you a deep dive on griefbots (what even are those??), and another who will talk about anthropomorphism (thinking these things are humanlike) and even - drumroll - consciousness!This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ourliveswithbots.com.