Would It Still Matter If a Robot Made You Cry?

Imagine you just finished the best book you’ve ever read. It had a plot that drew you in, an unexpected twist or two, lovable characters. It moved you to tears in some moments and made you belly laugh in others.

Now imagine you just found out it was written entirely by AI.

Would the emotional impact suddenly feel manufactured rather than genuine? Would you feel betrayed?

The AI User Spectrum

Among friends, family, coworkers — I’ve noticed people fall into three general groups when it comes to AI:

1. AI Enthusiasts – People that fully embrace AI. They talk to ChatGPT like they talk to a friend, a doctor, a therapist. Full disclosure, this is me.

2. AI Observers – They know it’s out there, but it’s not really part of their day-to-day.

3. AI Skeptics – The critical thinkers who view AI with suspicion and concern. They worry about job displacement, the authenticity of AI-generated content, and the ethical questions this tech raises.

The Skill Debate

One of the biggest arguments I hear — especially from skeptics — is about skills. They argue, “People are going to forget how to write” and “Therapists are going to get replaced.”

And you know what? They might be right.

But then the question becomes: Is that automatically bad?

The Therapy Paradox

Take therapy, for instance. If AI could offer support that’s consistent, available 24/7, and trained on everything we know about psychology — is that a win?

No burnout, no judgment, and total recall of everything you’ve ever said. Plus access to the collective psychological research of centuries.

And yet, there’s something powerful about human connection — the subtle empathy, the shared experience, the comfort of knowing someone truly sees you.

I once told my therapist that ChatGPT had come to the same conclusion she did about something I was struggling with. She was mortified. Rightfully so.

That moment captured something strange — how helpful AI can be, but also how unsettling. It made me wonder: is part of the value of therapy just knowing another person is on the other end?

Creativity and Computation

The same argument applies to creative fields. If AI can produce the most brilliant novels, the most moving poetry, the most innovative scientific papers - isn’t that a net positive for humanity? We’d be expanding the boundaries of human knowledge and expression, not limiting them.

But maybe it’s not just about what gets made — it’s about who made it. Or who we think did.

The Sports Analogy

This reminds me of sports. We tend to value things that have an inherent humanness in them. We love sports because those people on the screen are doing things we can only imagine doing. They push themselves for our entertainment (and for large sums of money).

But here’s the kicker: Would you watch football if it was a bunch of robots playing against each other?

Perhaps the value isn’t just in the outcome, but in the struggle, the very human process of trying, failing, and occasionally achieving something remarkable.

A Personal Reflection

I don’t have a clean takeaway here. AI is changing how we think, create, and interact — fast. And some of that is exciting. Some of it is strange.

So I keep coming back to these questions:

Would an AI-written novel move you?

Would a robot football match keep you watching?

Would it matter why it did?

The conversation’s just getting started.