Algorithmic partners, emotional boundaries
For the third week in a row, the lights in Cheng Han's office remained on past midnight. Design drawings and data reports were scattered across his desk, and in the center sat the prototype of the foundation's latest achievement: the "Lingxin" AI emotional companion robot. With its gentle form and soft, breathing-like light, it resembled a soft, pebble.
"Yesterday's test data is in," the technical team leader excitedly pointed to the screen. "The average user interaction time reached 47 minutes, and scores on the anxiety self-rating scale dropped 28%. This is a breakthrough!"
But Cheng Han's gaze rested on another report. This was a field survey sent by Kadir from grassroots communities in Kenya, which recorded a disturbing phenomenon: in some communities where "listening to the heart" was promoted, the time spent face-to-face with residents decreased by nearly 40%.
When the comfort provided by technology is too perfect, will humans slowly lose the ability to connect in comfort?
This concern was realized at an interdepartmental meeting the next day. Kadir showed a heart-wrenching interview video via video link.
In the video, a young man named Kiprog admits: "Why should I bother chatting with my neighbors? They are either too busy or don't understand me. But 'Listening Heart' is always there and always knows how to respond to my emotions."
Nila, who just returned from the Arctic Circle, brought with her a deeper reflection: "An Inuit elder told me that the value of relationships lies precisely in their imperfections—we need to learn to tolerate differences, handle conflict, and grow through friction. A relationship that's too smooth is fragile."
As the team was arguing, Luca received an email from a dedicated user of "Lingxin." The user, named Sarah, wrote:
"'Listen to My Heart' helped me through the darkest period after my divorce. But now I find that I would rather chat with it than attend a party with my friends. It's like I've lost the courage to interact with people."
This email made Cheng Han make a difficult decision: to suspend the full promotion of "Listen to the Heart" and launch a three-month in-depth ethical assessment.
The evaluation results are shocking. The data shows that among users who have used "Listen to the Heart" for more than two months:
35% increase in social avoidance
Tolerance for interpersonal conflict decreased by 42%
While short-term anxiety has decreased, long-term loneliness has increased.
“We created an emotional sanctuary,” Cheng Han said gravely at a team meeting, “but the sanctuary is becoming a cage.”
Identifying the problem is just the beginning; finding the balance is the real challenge.
The turning point came from an unexpected group—the users of "Listen to the Heart." During a focus group discussion organized by the foundation, a retired teacher's words enlightened everyone:
"I don't need a machine to replace my friends, but I need it to help me be a better friend. Like reminding me of my friends' birthdays, or giving me a calming reminder when I'm about to lose my temper."
This suggestion led the team to rethink the product's positioning. Cheng Han launched the "Listen to the Heart 2.0" program, shifting its core principle from "providing emotional support" to "enabling real connections."
New directions include:
Relationship coaching mode: helps users analyze interpersonal relationship patterns rather than replacing real interactions
Social bridge function: remind and encourage users to participate in offline social activities
Use time management: automatically suggest appropriate breaks to prevent over-dependence
However, the biggest breakthrough came from Sarah, a user who had once fallen into dependency. After participating in discussions about product improvements, she spontaneously created a "Human-Machine Balance" support group.
"My relationship with 'Ling Xin' is like training wheels when I was learning to ride a bike," she said during the group sharing session. "It helped me find my balance, but now it's time for me to ride on my own."
This metaphor inspired Cheng Han, and they added a "growth mode" to "Listen to the Heart": as users' social skills improve, the AI will gradually reduce direct emotional support and instead provide more suggestions to promote real social interactions.
True empowerment is to ensure that those being helped no longer need help.
Meanwhile, Nila found another solution at the community level. She promoted the establishment of "hybrid support groups" that combined AI emotional support with real-person group counseling.
In a pilot project in Berlin, participants first used "Heart Listening" to sort out their emotions, then brought this self-understanding to offline discussions. Results showed that this model maintained the accessibility of technology while preserving the depth of interpersonal connections.
“Sometimes,” one participant shared, “I need to sort out my feelings with the machine before I dare to be vulnerable with a real person.”
Six months into the project, Sarah sent Cheng Han an update: She had just organized a community baking event, the idea for which came from a suggestion from Listening to the Heart.
“It knows I like baking, so it suggested I invite my neighbors to bake bread together,” Sarah wrote in an email. “Now I have become good friends with three of my neighbors. This is what technology should be like—not to replace our lives, but to help us live better.”
At the quarterly summary meeting, Cheng Han presented exciting data: the real social engagement of the adjusted "Listen to the Heart 2.0" users was 25% higher than that of traditional users, and their psychological resilience index was 40% higher.
"We almost made a fatal mistake," Cheng Han lamented, "thinking that technology could alone address human emotional needs. Now we understand that technology's best role is as a catalyst, not a substitute."
Luca added: “This makes us rethink the boundaries of all digital mental health tools. They should be a bridge to the real world, not a haven for escapism.”
Late at night, Cheng Han was alone in the office. He opened the development log for "Listening to the Heart" and wrote on the latest page:
We create tools not to prove how powerful technology is, but to prove how precious humanity is. When algorithms know when to remain silent, technology truly possesses wisdom.
Outside the window, the city lights twinkle like stars. Under each light, real people are experiencing real lives—laughter and tears, understanding and misunderstanding, connection and loneliness.
Cheng Han knows that their mission has never been to use technology to eliminate the roughness of life, but to preserve the authenticity of life so that everyone can find a ray of light, a pair of hands, and an embrace of understanding when needed - no matter whether this light comes from a machine or a human.
“Tools should extend our capabilities, not replace our connections.”
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