Professor Michael Inzlicht is featured in a recent Toronto Star article about Toronto’s growing “edutainment” scene.
The article says that there is a growing appetite for bringing lectures into local bars, where young professionals gather to learn, connect, and share ideas over food and drinks. Events like Brains & Barstools blend casual socializing with talks from experts on topics ranging from AI empathy to literature and politics. With weekly sellouts, these gatherings highlight a rising interest for community, curiosity, and meaningful conversation.
Asked why he was interested in participating in the event, Professor Inzlicht is quoted as saying: "I like beer, and I like talking to people." Adding: "I suspect there were fewer people here on their phones than in a typical lecture of mine."
When researchers asked people whether they’d rather get an empathetic response from a human or from AI, human responses won by a wide margin. When the same researchers actually showed them the responses, AI won by a wider one. People who said they preferred human responses rated the AI replies as more empathetic, more validating, and even better at making them feel heard.
The most recent evidence comes from a Penn State and University of Toronto team led by Joshua Wenger, published in January in Communications Psychology. Across four studies, participants were given the choice between receiving an empathetic response from a human or from ChatGPT. They picked humans 57% to 62% of the time.
Read More