Publication Type
News Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
11-2025
Abstract
In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Tan Seow Hon discussed how AI companions, which promise emotionally intelligent companionship, have blurred the line between human and machine relationships by mimicking empathy, memory, and affection. She suggested that while such technologies may ease loneliness, they risk fostering narcissism, diminishing real human connection, and replacing authentic friendship with comforting illusions that erode the capacity for love and community.
Discipline
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Law and Society
Research Areas
Innovation, Technology and the Law
Areas of Excellence
Digital transformation
Publication
Straits Times
First Page
2
Last Page
2
ISSN
1692-9344
Publisher
Singapore Press holdings
Citation
TAN, Seow Hon.
A fake friend? AI companions are exactly that. (2025). Straits Times. 2-2.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4776
Copyright Owner and License
Publisher
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.