Digital Love & Real Bodies

AI is the new sensation in town. It helps us answer emails, write essays, do our finances, drive our cars, and produce our goods. So could it also learn to love us? As AI starts appearing more human-like, from chatbots to digital companions and love robots, our relationships with machines are becoming surprisingly more emotional in nature. But can an AI be programmed to love? This talk explores what love with AI might look like and how we could train AI agents to love us. It ultimately poses the question: If an AI can love us with a simple push of a button, would we push it and still be able to call this love?

Eating disorders are on the rise in the UK's young people. This is being fed by a rise in body image concerns. After giving an overview of body image as a concept, we will explore how social influences, such as a child's parents and peers, can lead to poorer body image in young people. In doing so, we will highlight the ways that the average person can create social ripple effects in their local communities. Finally, we will apply what we have learned to a school-based mental health intervention called the Body Happy Schools Programme.