Best Friend or Cyber Mother? A Confucian Reflection on AI Companionship

AI companions designed to simulate romantic or friendly intimacy are rapidly expanding, but most critiques remain framed by Western liberal assumptions. I develop an alternative critique grounded in Confucian ethics. It begins by challenging the industry claim that AI companions offer a remedy for loneliness. Against this view, I argue that Confucianism values positive solitude as a condition of self-cultivation and a precondition for genuine friendship. I further argue that AI companions are better understood as cyber mothers, inviting dependency and regression rather than ethical development. On this basis, I also criticize Nobel prize winner Geoffrey Hinton’s proposal that future AGI should be designed to exhibit maternal love. This event is sponsored by The Center for East Asian Studies, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, The Department of Philosophy, and the Department of Religious Studies. About the speaker: Bella Pei Wang is Assistant Professor at the School of Chinese, the University of Hong Kong. Wang specializes in Confucian ethics and comparative philosophy. She examines the intersection of traditional moral frameworks and contemporary technological dilemmas. She is the author of Artificial Intimacy: A Confucian Ethics of AI, forthcoming from Cambridge University Press.