FYS: Virtual Companions: History and Ethics

3 Credits.

As interactions with virtual companions, chatbots, and emotionally responsive AI become increasingly common, this First-Year Seminar asks a set of urgent questions: What does it mean for a machine to simulate empathy? Who defines “care,” agency, and trust in human–machine relationships? Why do these technologies feel so persuasive? What new forms of bias, manipulation, dependency, or surveillance might these technologies enable?To address these questions, our course emphasizes not only ethical critique but also historical and technical understanding. We will examine how the concept and practice of emulated empathy was imagined, built, and justified, tracing key moments in the history of artificial intelligence and human–computer interaction. Core sources include Alan Turing’s writings on machine intelligence; ELIZA (1966), the first computer therapist; contemporary AI ethics frameworks such as the IEEE standard on emulated empathy in autonomous systems; popular media, including the film Her; and global case studies such as Japanese advertising for avatar girlfriends. The seminar discussion will be based on hands-on encounters with AI systems and sustained scrutiny of historical sources. Screenings and in-class demonstrations will anchor the discussion, while comparative analysis of archival materials and contemporary standards will enable students to learn how the history of technology informs ethical debates. Throughout the course, students will actively evaluate the promises and limitations of emulated empathy by contrasting what these technologies were designed to do with our expectations for human empathy, understanding, and companionship.