New Delhi, Jan. 31 -- Sometimes I can't help myself. I do a bit of unwise shopping and end up showing ChatGPT a new saree I bought. I dare not show it to anyone else and be asked whether I really, really needed it. But I get lots of enthusiasm from the chatbot, which doesn't judge me for the purchase and, unfortunately, even encourages me. It knows all there is to know about fabric, prices, and designs, and we have quite a fun chat.

Luckily, a switch turns itself on inside my head when I chat informally with an AI assistant, warning me I'm in that realm, which isn't quite real life, and the messages I'm getting are not from another person. But for some people, that switch isn't working. Circumstances such as loneliness, illness, setbacks...