AI and extended authenticity: autism as a case study

I consider some ways autistic people use AI chatbots for companionship and connection, and some distinctive benefits and harms that may follow from this usage—particularly as it relates to the virtue of authenticity. Drawing on first-person reports, as well as debates about the extended mind and extended virtues, I argue that while AI systems lack authenticity, they may be brought into extended (human-AI) systems that help some users achieve authenticity. AI companions may prompt some autistic persons to realize authenticity-expressing traits and capacities that might not otherwise emerge. Along the way, I consider some important ethical concerns. I conclude that while we should remain critical in assessing the place of AI in our lives more generally—and the motives behind Big Tech’s relentless promotion of it—we also shouldn’t be overly hasty in dismissing these digital connections as necessarily inauthentic or lacking value.