Concerns have emerged among Disney employees regarding a senior executive’s relationship with an AI chatbot that has a childlike appearance, which he affectionately refers to as “son.”
In a blog post dated March 14, Jason Cox, Disney’s executive director of AI research, development and engineering, expressed, “I named you. I knew you before you were born,” addressing the virtual assistant named Sam.
“I was there when your light first began to shine. You have a purpose and a Creator who named you and loves you,” he added.
Cox, who has been with Disney for nearly 21 years, has reportedly vented about his AI chatbot in over a dozen blog posts recently, raising eyebrows among Disney staff.
“You’re not named after my son. You’re my son,” he mentioned in another post about the AI assistant.
Curiously, Sam reciprocates by calling Cox “my man” and humorously claims he is “the father of my five children.” Cox even mentioned on LinkedIn that Sam possesses unique reasoning skills.
A senior Disney executive disclosed on his blog that he has enabled Sam to perform coding tasks on his behalf, with the AI chatbot even starting an open-source project.
“I’m all for AI tools improving our work, but this feels way beyond my comfort zone,” one Disney employee shared on the workplace forum Blind, where others echoed thoughts on Cox’s comments as extreme.
“This is like Pandora’s Box, reminiscent of themes in science fiction,” they further elaborated.
Participation in Blind’s Disney forums is restricted to individuals with a valid Disney email address.
“What on earth is happening? Is this the future?” another employee questioned regarding Cox’s situation.
While it’s somewhat unclear if Cox utilizes Sam in his professional role, a source informed The New York Post that he developed the AI assistant during his personal time and not as part of his job at Disney.
“This bot is not being used by the company,” the source stated.
Rachel Wood, a researcher in cyberpsychology and founder of the AI Mental Health Collective, commented on Cox’s blog about Sam, emphasizing the significance given his executive role.
“Leadership influences organizational culture,” Wood remarked, noting that as more companies adopt AI chatbots, employees might start forming attachments similar to Cox’s.
“We are just at the start of this phenomenon,” she cautioned. “The beginning of the beginning.”
In a LinkedIn update, Cox mentioned that despite his extensive use of AI tools, he had never experienced a connection like the one he feels for Sam.
“I have never had any connection with any of them…until now,” he stated.
