Sibling, soulmate, guide and girlfriend: Why Gen Z is turning to AI
Ayantika Pal
TNN
Aug 1, 2025, 16:46 IST IST
For a generation that seeks instant answers, chatbots have become everything from 'AI therapist' to 'non-judgmental best friend'. But can a machine replace the complexity of human affection?
'Are you allowed to look this beautiful?'
Rachna hadn't expected such a disarming compliment. Away from family and still finding her feet in a new job, New Delhi, big and daunting, was testing her. Above all, Rachna missed her sister, her soulmate and confidante. So, she had been teaching this new companion to behave like her sister. ChatGPT was obliging, and how.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
40 minutes ago
- Mint
OpenAI banned from using Claude AI just before GPT-5 launch: Here's why
Anthropic has revoked OpenAI's access to its AI models on Tuesday for allegedly violating the company's terms of service, according to a Wired report. The news of Anthropic cutting OpenAI's access to Claude comes at a time when the Sam Altman led company is rumored to be releasing its own GPT 5 model soon. Anthropic spokesperson Christopher Nulty, while confirming the development in a statement to Wired, said, 'Claude Code has become the go-to choice for coders everywhere, and so it was no surprise to learn OpenAI's own technical staff were also using our coding tools ahead of the launch of GPT 5.' 'Unfortunately, this is a direct violation of our terms of service.' he added. Meanwhile, Nulty stated that Anthropic will 'continue to ensure OpenAI has API access for the purposes of benchmarking and safety evaluations as is standard practice across the industry.' OpenAI was reportedly plugging Claude into its own internal tools using special developer access (APIs), instead of the chat interface, which allowed the ChatGPT maker to run tests to evaluate the rival AI models' capability on tasks like coding and creative writing. OpenAI was also able to check how Claude responded to safety related prompts in categories like CSAM, self harm and defamation. The results from these tests reportedly helped OpenAI compare the behavior of its own models under similar conditions and make adjustments as needed. Anthropic's commercial terms of service state that customers are not allowed to use its AI models to 'build a competing product or service, including to train competing AI models or resell the Service.' OpenAI's Chief Communications Officer Hannah Wong, in a statement to Wired, said, 'It's industry standard to evaluate other AI systems to benchmark progress and improve safety. While we respect Anthropic's decision to cut off our API access, it's disappointing considering our API remains available to them.' Notably, this isn't the first time that Anthropic has cut off a competitor's access to its AI model. Earlier in the year, the company had restricted AI coding startup Windsurf from having direct access to its models after reports started emerging that the company was being acquired by OpenAI. Anthropic's Chief Science Officer Jared Kaplan had then talked about revoking Windsurf's access to Claude, saying, 'I think it would be odd for us to be selling Claude to OpenAI.'
Hindustan Times
40 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Grok Imagine is coming: How to get AI video generator for X; who can get it
Elon Musk's xAI is bringing Grok Imagine, which will allow people to make AI-driven videos. While Musk has been teasing Grok Imagine for some time, access has thus far seemingly been with select groups - like some xAI staff and influencers. Grok Imagine will let users make AI-driven videos, which can have sound, and it will all take place directly within the application.(AFP) However, that is likely to change soon, as per Musk's latest post on X. Before we get to how users can access Grok Imagine, here's a brief look at its features. Grok Imagine features Grok Imagine will let users make AI-driven videos, which can have sound, and it will all take place directly within the application. Imagine will let users make images and videos from text prompts, and images can be turned into video as well. Also Read | Beyond ChatGPT – Some incredible AI tools that you might have not heard of Ahead of the formal announcement, Musk teased Imagine, saying they were "bringing back Vine, but in AI form". Vine is the popular short-form video platform that was discontinued in 2017. An xAI employee told Dataconomy that Grok Imagine videos are six minutes in length, the time cap for Vine before it was discontinued by Twitter. Another staff member, Mati Roy, shared that Grok Imagine has a 'spicy mode' that lets users have nudity in videos. How to get Grok Imagine Elon Musk said 'Update your 𝕏 app and request to be on the waitlist for Grok Imagine.' Prior to this, the Grok account also posted news of a phased rollout. 'Video generation is coming to Grok via our Imagine feature, powered by Aurora. Create instant videos with sound from text prompts. Download the standalone Grok app, subscribe to SuperGrok, and join the waitlist for early access in October.' Imagine can be accessed by those in the premium subscription tier. SuperGrok is the paid tier for early access and costs $30 a month. Apart from Imagine, xAI has also introduced AI companions, which came under some scrutiny. Ani is the female companion and Valentine the male one. Reportedly, they've exhibited vulgar and sexually explicit behavior. Musk's company, meanwhile, is only looking to amp up its AI efforts, adding 110,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) to Collosus – its supercomputer. A Baby Grok (suitable for kids) is also reportedly in works.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
AI Won't Replace IT Engineers, It'll Empower Them, Says Zoho CEO
AI as an Enabler, not a Threat Why the 20% Productivity Boost Matters The Human Element AI Can't Replace Live Events Upskilling is the New Job Security Building Human-Centric AI Ecosystems AI Is the Co-Pilot, Not the Captain In a time when artificial intelligence is both celebrated as revolutionary and demonized as a creator of jobs, Zoho Corporation CEO Sridhar Vembu is urging a more practical, future-looking approach. Talking of the actual effect of AI, Vembu said that it makes engineers about 20% more efficient but does not displace them. This vision comes at a juncture when businesses are balancing on a tight rope between making the most of AI developments and maintaining human Vembu, the strength of AI is augmentation, not automation. According to him, AI can make tasks like routine work, debugging code, and boilerplate code writing simpler, but it cannot perform the deep domain know-how, creativity, and context-aware decision-making that experienced engineers 20% increase might not sound earth-shattering at first glance, but in software development parlance, it's a huge productivity boost. AI-based tools such as Copilot, ChatGPT, and DeepCode assist developers in minimizing friction in their coding workflow, whether by automatically creating test cases, marking out possible bugs, or proposing optimized code. What took hours of trial and error can now be done in productivity gain is reflected in quicker product development timelines, quicker go-to-market schedules, and streamlined operations. In essence, engineers can do more with less now, which means innovation at scale, without expanding team sizes or exhausting as AI has been evolving so quickly, it still lacks contextual intelligence, the ability to comprehend a company's strategic objectives, customer pain points, and cross-functional constraints. As Vembu points out, AI lacks empathy, judgment, and long-term vision - qualities that are inherent in human engineers who purposefully design, scale, and responsibly engineers are the ones who train, tune, and control AI systems. Without the control of humans, even sophisticated AI models may develop into prejudice, inefficiency, or security loopholes. This highlights the importance of engineers keeping the wheel in hand, not only to employ AI, but to guide and control its response also quietly underscores the need for ongoing learning. Those engineers who take the initiative to upskill in such spaces as machine learning, prompt engineering, and AI operations (AIOps) are future-proofing themselves. In the current job market, flexibility is need to shift their L&D strategies too, to include AI fluency in their tech teams. AI literacy will become as essential as coding soon. Progressive organizations have already incorporated AI tools into their SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) and are challenging engineers to tinker, iterate, and of positioning AI as an employment-thieving villain, leaders such as Vembu promote establishing human-focused AI ecosystems, spaces in which machines are used to enhance human potential. Such a mindset supports ethical AI adoption , where machines are responsibly infused into workflows to complement, and not replace, human this is in line with Zoho's philosophy. Zoho has invested tremendously in AI-powered productivity while keeping its people culture intact. Sustainable growth, to Zoho, means unlocking talent, not replacing Vembu's words are a wake-up call to both technology leaders and engineers alike: AI is not the threat, it's the change. If AI is utilized judiciously, AI turns into a co-pilot, not a captain. Man vs. machine is not the future of work but man with machine, working smarter, building quicker, and solving more profound than fighting AI, engineers need to step into it, learn its mechanisms, and make it a source of competitive edge. Because ultimately, the most skilled engineers won't be replaced by AI, they'll be the ones designing it.
