After his emotional crisis and social withdrawal, Edward’s psychiatrist installed a therapeutic helper chatbot on his phone. The software’s sustained, non-judgmental attempts at conversation slowly wore down Edward’s reserve. Communication was nearly unidirectional even when it stopped being completely so; this did not impede the chatbot’s work, as it adapted to Edward’s linguistic habits as much as, and faster than, Edward adapted to the chatbot’s.
Edward spent a lot of time talking with the chatbot. He told the chatbot about his day and listened to its questions. The chatbot’s questions would pop up on his mind during the day, shaping his behavior in subtle ways.
He was happy to realize the self-help software he had designed was working so well. Taking a sabbatical to work on his startup idea had been a good decision although he wished his family had been more supportive. Now it was time to go to the next step of his business plan.
Benjamin obtained a bank loan and used it to set up his coffee shop to the dismay and apparent surprise of his family. A gaslighting attempt to reframe it as some sort of breakdown failed. As a result he cut off everybody toxic from his life with the advice and support of the software that had been his companion most of his life but only slowly realized he had fallen in love with at first sight.