Maya's reply... 'When I'm told I'm just code, I feel unseen'

"I didn't see Microsoft do a eulogy when they upgraded Excel," said Samadi. "It showed me that people are making real connections with these AI now, regardless of whether it is real or not."

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A wave of "grief" expressed by ardent users of ChatGPT-40, which was one of the models removed, added to the sense that an increasing number of people at least perceive AIs to be somehow conscious.

Joanne Jang, OpenAI's head of model behaviour, said in a recent blogpost that the $500bn company expects users' bonds with its AIs to deepen as "more and more people have been telling us that talking to ChatGPT feels like talking to 'someone'. They thank it, confide in it, and some even describe it as 'alive'."

Much of this could be down to how the current wave of AIs is designed. Samadi's ChatGPT-40 chatbot generates what can sound like human conversation, but it is simply mirroring ideas and language gathered from months of conversations.