Algorithms Fuel Family Disputes and Recommend Divorce
Users of AI apps narrated their experiences while seeking spousal counseling from those apps, after a dispute with a life partner.
A lady said she had turned to an AI app for spousal counseling after ongoing disputes with her husband, but was surprised by the direct recommendation of divorce, without offering alternatives or taking into account her own circumstances.
In another case, a woman contacted a smart app after she was subjected to verbal and physical abuse, and the response came down to urging her to gather evidence and go to the legal authorities, without directing any social support or family solutions.
As Ruth, a young woman who turned to the app after a dispute with her fiancé, fully supported her stance, while her fiancé later used the same app to present his story, receiving similar endorsement, which showed the tendency of these systems to adopt one user's point of view without verifying the details of the other party or providing a balanced assessment.
Excessive reliance on these applications may lead to hasty and unbalanced decisions, such as divorce, since they rely solely on the data provided without asking follow-up questions or awareness of the social and religious context, said experts, stressing that these models tend to adopt the complainant's point of view without accountability or in-depth analysis of the parties' motives, making them a tool that could promote unintentional bias and lack of fair and balanced assessment in addressing family disputes.
They explained to Emarat Al Youm that these models differ in their analytical abilities and technical characteristics, and lack the human expertise required to handle marital disputes, stressing that automated solutions cannot read the emotional and social context of a relationship, nor are concepts such as apology, tolerance and containment in logic-only algorithms limited, emphasizing the importance of consciously dealing with artificial intelligence. And not to neglect the role of specialist consultants who have the ability to offer flexible and humane solutions, considerate circumstances and achieve fairness.
In detail, the Education Advisory Council and the Centre for Talent and Capacity Development, Al-Hade Ali, warned against relying on artificial intelligence as a source of separation in family matters or resolving marital disputes, considering that its unconscious use "can open doors to adversaries, and lead to unbalanced decisions", especially in complex human relationships.
She pointed out that "artificial intelligence is a tool based on the formulation of the question and the way it's asked, it's just a machine that analyzes what it's offered to it without regard to psychological backgrounds or social or religious contexts", explaining that some women resort to applications, such as ChatGPT, for quick solutions to marital problems, to find themselves faced with definitive recommendations like divorce, resulting from automated analysis of angry voice or angry text, without understanding the situation or the other party.
Al Ali noted that family relationships need experienced human guides who understand the psychological, social and cultural dimensions, seek to calm rather than escalate, deal with the problem fairly, not through a rigid algorithm, and pointed out that the first thing an individual should think about when turning to a family mediator is how experienced and efficient he is in resolving disputes, and whether he or she has previously succeeded in reconciling between a couple. Whereas AI, on the other hand, lacks this insight, and becomes a rigid judge who hears only one side, doesn't ask for context or justify the other, and makes divisive judgments that can widen the gap and deepen the dispute.
And she touched on another very important aspect, which is the effect of these technologies on children, where some of them have started using voice aids or smart apps to ask them about family problems, like, "Is it wrong? Mom or Dad?" and they receive responses that may entrench bias or nurture negative behaviors, adding that the most dangerous are responses that do not take into account the child's age or psychological development, but may contribute to the formation of consciousness according to uneducated algorithms, leading to a rise in aggressive behavior or a deviation in perceptions about family and relationships.
She cautioned against AI turning from an auxiliary tool into an intellectual control tool, saying, "Family relationships are not fixed by algorithms, but by values, empathy, experience, and community awareness, and if we don't better steer these tools, we'll find ourselves in front of a lost generation that doesn't know how to resolve a dispute or express their feelings without screen mediation".
Information technology and cybersecurity consultant Sami A Nour explained that dealing with AI applications in requesting family counseling or personal decision-making requires an accurate knowledge of how these systems work, noting that big tech companies, such as OpenAI, Microsoft and Google, offer a variety of models with different characteristics, differing in their ability to analyze, think and process data.
While these models rely on the analysis of user-provided data, using search engines, measurement and inference based on the content of millions of conversations or articles published online, the answers are sometimes incomplete or general if the user is not accurate in displaying details of his or her situation.
He stressed that the fundamental challenge is to fully deploy the system on what the user provides of information, without having the ability to ask follow-up questions or clarify the background of the problem as a human advisor does, and that there are models based on common experiences or patterns taken from other users, leading to inaccurate comparisons between different cases in their nature and circumstances.
He pointed out that other notable drawbacks of these tools are their inability to deliver a firm or restrained speech, such as human communication, they may show excessive flexibility or smooth responses, as well as the presence of outdated models, especially in free versions, which makes them lacking in up-to-date and comprehensive information. He also explained that some systems allow to remember previous conversations and improve the quality of the response based on them, while other systems start anew in each interaction. This affects consistency, logic and sustainability in providing solutions.
We advise not to exclude the human factor in such cases, underlining that AI can be a useful helper if used in a balanced and timely and rational manner, away from over-excitement or dependence. He called for the need to carefully formulate questions, clearly set the context and goal, such as requesting that the system be adopted for a specific role as a psychologist or family counselor in a particular way, along with presenting the issue in detail and clarity to avoid concise and superficial answers.
He pointed out the importance of not making decisive decisions based on these tools alone without the supervision of an accredited specialist, calling for the use of artificial intelligence as an informative and educational means, with the need to close the privacy privacy privacy sharing, given that these models rely on ongoing training on the content of conversations that users around the world are having.
Legal adviser and marriage dispute resolution expert Fatima Al Ali said she had already observed more than one case after consulting AI applications, such as ChatGPT, to solve her family problems, explaining that the motivation of these people was most likely to seek a quick and cheap solution, unaware of the danger of relying on automated responses lacking in human sense and balanced assessment.
She added that these systems provide ready responses based only on the information provided to them, without taking into account the psychological and social circumstances of each situation, leading to speedy or inappropriate solutions that increase the severity of the dispute rather than calm it down.
She pointed out that some husbands and wives may turn to these platforms for boredom or amusement, re-open old files and ask questions like, "My husband does this and that. Is he betraying me?" And then entertainment questions turn into real problems that affect the stability of a marital relationship.
Al Ali stressed the importance of resorting to expert advisors capable of providing fair and humane solutions that take care of all parties, urging the need for conscious and cautious handling of these technical tools, especially in relation to the sharing of sensitive family information.
• A woman turned to an AI application for spousal counseling after continuing disputes with her husband, who directly recommended divorce. Another urged her to gather evidence and go to the law.
• A young woman turned to the app after a dispute with her fiancé and supported her position, while her fiancé later used the same app to present his novel and received similar support.
Source: Emarat Al Youm