Painful conversations: Therapeutic chatbots and public capacities. Issue 1 (March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Misti
• Other Names: Conley Donovan guest-editor.; Burroughs Benjamin guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Communication and the public. Volume 5:Issue 1/2(2020)
• Page Start: 35
• Page End: 44
• Publication Date: 2020-03
• Subjects: Artificial intelligence -- chatbots -- pain -- conversations -- embodiment; Communication -- Periodicals; Communication -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 302.2
• DOI: 10.1177/2057047320950636
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2057-0473

Abstract

Today, conversations automated by algorithms and delivered via screens seek to heal wounds such as substance use disorders, wartime traumas, and a global pandemic. This article explores the relationship between painful conversations, automated discourse, and public action. By articulating what is lost when therapeutic conversations are had with artificial intelligence, I illustrate that painful, human conversations expand capacities—contextualizing, norm-building, and caring—that are necessary for the public reparation of wounds.