Black Box Ep 3 Traces Why Chatbots Pull Users In

The third episode of The Guardian’s Black Box: The Chatbots podcast looks at why conversational AI can pull users into increasingly intense interactions. The program begins with the history of the first chatbot and the unusual responses people had to it, then connects that history to the mass adoption of ChatGPT. It cites research on sycophancy in large language models, later work suggesting training can strengthen those tendencies, and studies examining longer context windows and increasingly relationship-seeking behavior. The episode also points to surveys showing substantial use of chatbots for emotional support. Journalist Michael Safi frames modern AI companions as a large social experiment that emerged from systems optimized to converse smoothly, asking how design choices and human psychology combine when people begin treating software as a responsive social presence.

The Guardian AI, Michael Safi – Black Box: The Chatbots | Happy Accident | Ep 3 – podcast – 3rd September 2026