The Illusion of Neutral Technology: Dr. Kate Devlin on AI Intimacy, Hidden Harms, and the Scientific Method

In this episode of Change My Mind, we’re joined by Dr. Kate Devlin, Professor of AI and Society in the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London and co-lead of the Responsible AI UK program. Drawing on her early background in archaeology and her extensive research into human-computer interaction, Dr. Devlin explores the emotional bonds we form with chatbots and the unacknowledged corporate practices driving the AI boom.

Plus, she opens up about her own profound shift in perspective: why she abandoned her belief in the absolute objectivity of the scientific method, realizing that controlled lab experiments fail to capture the messy reality of how humans actually engage with technology in the wild.

What you’ll learn:

• The AI Companion Boom: Why the rise of large language models has led millions of people to form deep attachments to non-judgmental AI boyfriends and chatbots.
• The “Dirty Secret” of AI: Why the most urgent threats aren’t super-intelligent robots, but the massive environmental drain of data centers and the exploited human labor propping up the supply chain.
• The Death of Pluralism: How the widespread use of a few homogenous language models flattens human knowledge and erases diverse, marginalized voices.
• The Silicon Valley Spin: Why tech executives stubbornly claim their platforms are “neutral tools” despite building them with specific values, and the cynical optics of AI companies lobbying the Vatican.
• Lessons from Northern Ireland: How growing up in a mixed Catholic-Protestant family during the Troubles shaped her understanding of polarization, power dynamics, and the fragile success of the peace process.

Buy Kate’s book Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781472950901 

Buy Alison, Laura and Alexandra’s new book, Poles Apart: Why People Turn Against Each Other, and How to Bring Them Together  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781847942975

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