As human beings, how we communicate with others often frames how society defines us. 

But what if your words were not your own? What if you had been co opted by a computer and forced to be an avatar for its words? 

Would your friends and family recognise that it wasn’t you? Would they even notice that anything was amiss?

Alex Gillespie is Associate Professor in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics and his research into echoborgs has been seeking answers to these very questions. He joined Jonathan to discuss his project, the future of artificial intelligence and how our tendency to judge people by what they look like rather than what they say influences the development of the technology. 

First Aired: 15/8/2015