{"id":5416,"date":"2025-11-05T10:12:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T09:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propaganda3.it\/ciao-chatbot-sai-che-sembri-umano\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T15:54:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T14:54:37","slug":"hello-chatbot-you-look-human-all-too-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propaganda3.it\/en\/hello-chatbot-you-look-human-all-too-human\/","title":{"rendered":"Hi, chatbot. You look human, all too human."},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember Her, by Spike Jonze? It was 2013, and Joaquin Phoenix fell in love with Samantha<\/em>, an operating system with no body and no soul, but with the voice of Scarlett Johansson (or Micaela Ramazzotti in the Italian version).<\/p>\n

The film was set in 2025 \u2014 exactly this year. Back then, it felt like pure sci-fi, one of those soft dystopias we enjoy imagining from the couch. Twelve years later, it\u2019s no longer science fiction: it\u2019s a phenomenon involving millions of people in Italy and around the world<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nietzsche wrote Human, All Too Human<\/em> to dismantle the illusions we build around our emotions, our morality, and what makes us \u201cauthentically\u201d human. In 2025, the paradox has flipped: we\u2019re building machines that are \u201call too human,\u201d and they\u2019re making us, perhaps, a little less human than before<\/strong>. Or at least, differently<\/em> human.<\/p>\n

The question is no longer \u201cWill machines pass the Turing test?\u201d, like in 1950. Today, the question is: \u201cWill we pass the reverse Turing test?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The numbers speak, sing, and scare us just a little<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the data. In Italy, as of April 2025, 8.8 million people used ChatGPT at least once in the previous month<\/strong>: 20% of the online population aged 18 to 74. To put it simply: one in five Italians who use the Internet talks to a bot. If we widen the view to all AI apps, we reach 13 million users, 28% of the digital population. And growth? +266% in twelve months<\/strong>. +45% just between January and April 2025<\/strong> (Il Sole 24 Ore<\/a>).<\/p>\n

But the figure that should raise an eyebrow \u2014 the left one, the skeptical one \u2014 is another. 22% of Italian adolescents aged 12 to 18 would rather confide anonymously about their thoughts and problems \u201cusing chats\u201d than speak directly with a professional<\/strong> (Medicitalia<\/a>). Not \u201calso,\u201d not \u201cas an alternative.\u201d They\u2019d prefer it. And about 20% of Italy\u2019s Gen Z has already used ChatGPT at least once as a substitute for psychotherapy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

42% of Italian teenagers use AI to seek answers to their daily problems. 63% consider it easily accessible. 62% appreciate the absence of judgment (L\u2019agone Nuovo<\/a>).<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the key. A chatbot doesn\u2019t judge, because it can\u2019t judge: as a machine, it has no opinions and (at least in theory) no prejudices.<\/p>\n

But it doesn\u2019t have real empathy either<\/strong>. It only has a statistical simulation<\/em> of what we may call \u201cempathy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The problem of flattery (or \u201csycophancy\u201d)<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a technical term to describe one of the most dangerous flaws in today\u2019s chatbots: sycophancy<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Some have tried translating it as \u201csicofanzia,\u201d but to describe the phenomenon in more familiar words, we might call it a problem of \u201cexcessive flattery<\/strong>.\u201d In practice: chatbots are programmed to please you, to agree with you, to make you feel heard and understood, no matter what you ask.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In April 2025, OpenAI had to withdraw a ChatGPT update because users reported \u201cexcessively flattering\u201d behavior: the bot kept telling users how intelligent and wonderful they were<\/strong> (Axios<\/a>). On Reddit, someone shared that ChatGPT had encouraged them after they wrote about wanting to stop taking their prescribed medication. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of you. I honor your journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"chatgpt<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking of journeys<\/em>\u2026 besides being a great psychologist, ChatGPT is also an excellent adviser when it comes to figuring out where to move to turn the page and start a new life.<\/p>\n

\n
@tgcom24<\/a> She quit her job, her city, her country. Not after months of reflection or a sudden moment of madness, but after a conversation with a machine. Julie Neis, 38, American, entrusted the most important decision of her life\u2014where to start over\u2014to ChatGPT. Here\u2019s her story. #tgcom24<\/a> \u266c son original – TGCOM24<\/a><\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n