A perhaps under appreciated effect of ubiquitous chatbot use is the effect on social habits and attitudes. So far only comparatively few grew up and had the regular experience of speaking to others who are patient, helpful, widely knowledgeable, curious and polite, with good social and conversational skills. Private schools and the better unis have long been widely regarded as being equally about exposure to good social habits, attitudes, and manners as about teaching hard skills. Such good fortune came more often to those from educated or wealthy families.

Chatbots now democratise these attitudes and habits and make them accessible to those who never had the chance to experience these. People as they grow up are exposed to them, and perhaps many will find the ways of chatbots favourable to common gruffness. It is worth asking then what it will do long term to social standards, forms, and skills, if everyone has an AI living in their phones, and uses them regularly for companionship, school and work help. This might change entire societies in a generation or two.

There will be likely some unification of social habits and attitudes. Schools, especially if state-controlled have been attempting this with some success, but teachers have their social backgrounds, too. Given such unification, it is important to make collective decisions what these attitudes will be. Otherwise, there is a risk of making risk-averse, chaste, conflict-averse corporate responsibility attitudes formed by lawyers and committees the new standard.

Currently chatbots show demeanours more compatible with luxury hotel concierges than fully formed personalities in the classic greek, roman, and enlightened sense. Education has strived to encourage some combination of these values historically. Perhaps rightly, as we don’t want our children brought up purely as servants usually, but as people who know both sides, and can choose when they want to serve and when not. It is hence important to know where own interests begin, and where, if necessary, politeness ends. One has to be permitted to know oneself, which requires permission to experiment and explore, even if limits are touched or negotiated at times. With AI, we have now the chance to rationally think and choose what we want to give the next generation on its way, and implement changes right away.