OpenAI, the company that owns ChatGPT, is worried that people may become emotionally dependent on artificial intelligence voices. The company released a new "advanced voice mode" to users last week. The chatbot comes equipped with an array of lifelike voices that are almost indistinguishable from human voices. They can have an authentic conversation in real time, laugh at the right time, interject with "umms," "aahs" and "hmms," and they can adjust to being interrupted. An OpenAI report states that the newly-released, human-sounding voices may lead people to rely on AI for companionship, and even for romance and love. It cautioned: "Users might form social relationships with the AI, reducing their need for human interaction."

The OpenAI report warns that future chatbots could fundamentally change societies. They will reshape how we interact with family, friends and colleagues. They may even usurp communication among humans. The report points to benefits of the new tool. These include bringing comfort and friendship to lonely people, and giving confidence to those who lack self-confidence. The report says people may gain enough confidence to start dating in the real world. On the flip side, chatbots could cause people to be ruder, more impatient and more selfish. Wired.com writes that the new chatbot includes "the potential…to amplify societal biases, spread disinformation, and aid in the development of chemical or biological weapons".