A friend started replying to my emails and texts with AI-generated responses. At first, I was amused, but now I’m getting Terminator vibes. How do I break up with the bot and get my friend back?

D.D., Riverview, NSW

Credit: Illustration by Simon Letch

Just as a stupid joke, I ran your question though an AI chatbot to see what an AI chatbot would say about you wanting to break up with AI chatbots. Then I sat back with an air of smugness and waited for a reply, assuming it would be some pathetic, preprogrammed response along the lines of, “Sorry, but I choose not to respond to that”, like Siri says when you tell her to f--- off. It wasn’t a long wait: the answer arrived in 0.00008 seconds, hardly enough time for me to raise my eyebrow into its trademark, self-satisfied arch. And when I r

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