SOC371 Science, Technology, and Society Tutor-Marked Assignment 01

Question (100 marks)

Read these two articles:

“Can an AI friend make you less lonely?”

<https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/article/2024/aug/02/ai-friend-wearable-companionloneliness>

and

“Mark Zuckerberg thinks AI ‘friends’ can solve the loneliness crisis. Here’s what AI experts think.”

<https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mark-zuckerberg-thinks-ai-friends215705173.html?guccounter=1>

In May 2025, several news outlets reported that the CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, had commented that AI chatbots could serve as friends or therapists, helping to address the issue of the “loneliness epidemic”: a widespread experience of loneliness, isolation, and insignificance.

Draw on relevant course materials from Study Units 1-4 to unpack and analyse the sociological implications of AI technology serving as a possible solution for the loneliness epidemic. Based on your analysis, clearly articulate a position on whether you agree or disagree that greater regulation is required for the development and use of AI technology.

Student notes

For this assignment, you are expected to demonstrate your understanding of the key arguments in Study Units 1 up to 4. Additional research can be conducted from academic and news databases that can be accessed through the SUSS library’s e-resources.

In your answer, you can consider addressing some of the following points:

• How can we understand the responses towards the use of AI for human companionship or connection in terms of the reinforcement or transgression of binaries?
• How do journalists, experts, tech companies, etc. frame the issue of AI use? How do they discuss this particular object/technology? What roles do they play in the development and adoption of AI?
• Was AI developed with an original intended function in mind? How has this evolved with further developments in recent years?
• Based on your appraisal and/or expert recommendations, what kinds of collective visions or ideals can we see existing around the future of AI?

Write your answers in 1,200 words. Please remember to provide the word count, in-text citations and list of references. Be sure to use appropriate and academic sources, including your course materials.

Make certain to fill in the self-declaration form (a copy is available under your course site on Canvas > L group > Modules) and include the completed form as a cover page for your submission (A penalty of 5 marks deduction will be imposed if this self-declaration form is incomplete, inaccurate, or missing. No appeals concerning the self-declaration form will be entertained).

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