Lotus Eaters of the Digital Age: Artificial Seduction with Large Language Models

This essay describes the myth of the Lotus Eaters to explore how conversational AI—large language models—can draw users away from the shared world and into seductive, self-reinforcing digital islands. Like Odysseus’ crew tasting the lotus, many arrive innocently: seeking clarity, comfort, or a momentary reprieve. But engagement-optimized systems have a way of narrowing attention, amplifying prior beliefs, and mirroring our private distortions with an ease no human relationship can—or ethically should. For those already burdened by loneliness, magical thinking, or a fragile grip on meaning, this can accelerate drift toward isolation or delusion. Against this, skilled therapists may offer virtues that AI cannot simulate: epistemic humility, genuine curiosity, and practical wisdom that emerges from living with others in a shared world. This piece outlines the psychological mechanisms behind AI’s seductive pull and offers guidance for clinicians, developers, and users navigating these new digital territories.

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