Reimagining Human-AI Relationships: A Positive Future for Chatbots, Social AI, and the Phygital Self

There are many valid concerns about Artificial Intelligence (AI) that must be taken seriously. However, historically, technological progress has sometimes led to unexpected benefits. This essay begins with an imaginative fictional future-history, followed by an academic discussion. The fictional narrative acts as a jumping-off point for exploring the potential benefits of social AI, or AI that interact socially with humans, (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Grok etc) in three areas: (1) social AI agents as relationship partners, (2) how our interactions with AI might affect our human relationships, and (3) social AI's influence on shaping self-identity. Consistent with macromarketing, we examine how social AI in marketing might affect people's lives far beyond the economic sphere. And in keeping with the theme of this special issue on phygital marketing, we conclude with suggestions on how these dynamics could impact phygital (physical and digital) marketing strategies and consumption trends.