04.03.2026
Video: Buddy, Therapist, Romance. Opportunities and Risks of Emotional Interactions with AI
Recording of the lecture by journalist and bestselling author Christoph Koch
When does a chatbot become a friend? Do emotionally responsive AI systems provide comfort, or are they merely a business model? Journalist and bestselling author Christoph Koch set out to find answers to these questions during his time in Tübingen.
Christoph Koch spent three months as a Journalist-in-Residence at Cyber Valley and the RHET AI research center at the University of Tübingen. In this lecture, he presents the questions he was able to answer through three months of research and intensive discussions with researchers. Drawing on findings from academic studies and scholarly articles, as well as his own experiences with chatbots and AI companions, he shared his insights in a lecture held on January 29, 2026, at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tübingen.
Christoph Koch works as a freelance journalist and nonfiction author, with a particular interest in the intersection of technology and society.
As a Journalist-in-Residence, he had the opportunity to investigate how emotional interactions with AI systems may transform the relationship between humans and machines — whether as a best friend, attentive listener, supportive psychotherapist, or romantic partner. To this end, he spoke with numerous researchers from a wide range of disciplines.
The Cyber Valley Journalist-in-Residence Program is a collaboration between RHET AI and Cyber Valley GmbH. It offers journalists the opportunity to pursue their own questions about artificial intelligence during a three- to six-month residency. The program focuses on exploring how AI applications can be used effectively in journalism and how evidence-based, nuanced reporting on the technologies behind the term “artificial intelligence” can be achieved. Journalists are selected by an independent jury and work entirely independently during their residency, without editorial direction or content requirements.
The lecture will be held in German.
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