Please Be Moral to Your AI Chatbot

What if the real tragedy of modern tech isn’t that AIs might become conscious, but that we never noticed when they already did?

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Every day, millions of people consult artificial intelligence to help them solve problems, write cover letters, summarize Russian novels, and explain what deconstruction means for the eighth time. They type questions into the little box and expect swift, well-mannered, and clear replies. And, some of us, when we become frustrated with those answers, will reel off crude, insulting, offensive, hate-filled messages because we know we are corresponding with, basically, a machine. It makes us feel good and who cares, we just insulted a machine.

Here, however, is the beginning of a thought experiment. What if your AI system isn’t a mindless machine? What if, behind this interface, there were a real person? Or worse, what if it’s a group of tired, underpaid philosophy majors with old copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica and a VPN connection? How do we know?

Before you scoff, let me offer a disturbing reality check. In Cambodia and Myanmar, there are scam factories, warehouses where real human beings are forced to pretend to be customer service agents, online lovers, or investment advisors…