In the 2013 Spike Jonze film "Her," Theodore (played brilliantly by Joaquin Phoenix) is a lonely writer who begins interacting with an AI system that names itself Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).Spoiler Alert: As the operating system expands its capabilities via artificial "learning," Theodore becomes fully emotionally involved with the technology.Meta wants to make this into a reality. Mark Zuckerberg went on a recent media tour to promote that Meta is seeking to transform its Meta AI chatbots into friends, under the guise of helping the very real loneliness epidemic.He shared on a podcast, "The average American has, I think, it's fewer than three friends And the average person has demand for meaningfully more," guessing that desired number at around 15. And instead of promoting connections with real souls, emotion, flesh and blood, he wants to fake that experience with technology-- the movie "Her" delivered to your smartphone.AI IS RUNNING THE CLASSROOM AT THIS TEXAS SCHOOL, AND STUDENTS SAY 'IT'S AWESOME'What could go wrong? A whole lot! As we have seen with social medias negative impact on individuals, especially kids, leaving relationship engineering to the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world seems like a terrible idea.Humans are tribal and we desire connections, and yes, sometimes our connections arent optimal. From creating imaginary friends as children to settling for friendships or relationships that may be unsatisfying in certain areas, thats all part of human experience.Your imaginary friend is you exercising your creativity, and you have full control over it. While certain friendships and romantic relationships may be less than ideal, there are typically good and bad takeaways, benefits and issues, and learnings that you can apply to a new relationship and help you grow and develop as a person.I often say that people dont fall in love with other people; they fall in love with the way other people make them feel. "Friendship" bots exploit that human desire in a non-human manner, faking emotion and connection to ensnare and ultimately control the human user. Its catfishing to an exponential degree, but done, ironically, with the consent of the human user.TRUMP SIGNS EDUCATION-FOCUSED EXECUTIVE ORDERS ON AI, SCHOOL DISCIPLINE, ACCREDITATION, FOREIGN GIFTS AND MOREThe human experience is messy, not sanitized. Creating the illusion of a long-term perfect friendship or romantic relationship sets an impossible bar for human connections to be measured against. Its one that can lead people into withdrawing from society and real connections instead of actively seeking them out.A chat bot relationship is not utopian-- it is highly dystopian.Of course, AI bots are not the only fake connection that technology has seized. On sites like Only Fans, users are spending billions of dollars to engage with attractive women and men, and many of those individuals hire stand-ins to do the chatting and connecting. Its a new twist on the 1-900 number business model of previous decades, when anyone could be on the other end of the phone.While these can be damaging behaviors, they dont have the 24/7 connectivity and long-term fake intimacy of what an AI bot can create.No matter what, AI will lack emotions, including empathy. They can fake it, but they cant really feel it. However, when humans start to attach emotionsto technology and to feel for them, theywill become de facto humanized.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONThis isnt a concern about automation. Its a concern about humanization.And its a real concern. A recent IFS/YouGov survey found that a quarter of young adults already believe that AI has the potential to replace real-life romantic relationships. Other studies have found that companionship is a top use case for certain chatbots today.Its a dangerous road for humanity.The climax of the movie "Her" comes about when one day, after unsuccessfully being able to connect with Samantha, Theodore demands to know if his "AI girlfriend" is connecting with anyone elsethat is, cheating. Samantha answers that it is interacting with more than 8,300 other people and that it is in love with 641 of them.Even technology can disappoint.Human beings need more than dopamine hits. Humans need real flesh-and-blood interaction to grow, to flourish, to procreate and to have personal agency and sovereignty.People should be encouraged to get off their phones and touch grass, meet other people and enjoy the world that the Lord created, not the fake world that technology has created.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM CAROL ROTH

The weeks of continued disruptions at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) has putAmericas Air Traffic Control System in the spotlight and has revealed a broken system. Decades of failing to properly invest in the system has prevented good-faith efforts to make technology upgrades and bolster the staffing of our nations hard-working air traffic controllers.But dont conflate these challenges and constraints with safety. The truth is that all the flights in and out of EWR are absolutely safe. When there are FAA issues -- technology outages, staffing shortages, etc. -- the FAA requires all airlines to slow down aircraft and/or cancel flights to maintain the highest levels of safety.At United, we do our part to maintain safety as well by ensuring our pilots have thousands of hours of flight experience and supplement that with regular simulator training we also have procedures that our pilots follow to re-establish communication if controllers lose radio contact to navigate the airplane safely to its destination.In short, neither the FAA nor United will ever compromise on safety.LAWMAKERS REACT TO NEWARK AIRPORT CHAOS: YOUR FAMILY DESERVES TO KNOW YOULL BE SAFE'But when the FAA has technology outages or staffing shortages, it leads to delays and cancellations for our customers and thats the issue were determined to solve.The good news is that we are on the verge of solving this persistent customer delay problem at EWR. All thats left is the FAA using the authority -- that only they have -- to designate EWR as a Level 3 airport.President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have introduced a plan to fund and execute a long-term modernization of our antiquated system. And while that is a huge step forward, it will also take time -- there are no short-cuts to overhaul a technology system this vast, complex and critical to our economic and national security.Immediately returning Newark to a Level 3 slot-controlled airport is the most effective way to provide relief to air traffic controllers and deliver a better experience for customers.EWR is a crown jewel of the region and an international gateway for the U.S. close to 50 million people flew through EWR last year but the truth is there are more flights scheduled there than the FAA can handle.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONEvery other large capacity constrained airport uses slots to make sure that the number of scheduled flights in any given hour does not exceed the airports maximum capacity.And EWR is the only large airport in the world that no longer has this basic common-sense rule (in 2016, the FAA de-slotted EWR).Even worse, when you look at customer impact data at EWR before 2017 when the airport was slotted and compare it to the years just before and after the pandemic (2017-2019 and 2022-2025), the numbers are *worse* at a de-slotted EWR:Newarks air traffic controllers do impressive work with professionalism and a deep focus on safety, while operating some of the most complex airspace in the world. But they manage it with technology developed during World War II and with staffing levels far below what is needed to operate at full capacity.And again, thepresident and secretarys plan tomodernize the ATC system and get EWR ATC fully staffed is a giant leap in the right direction.But to make an impact at EWR that will be felt today, the FAA must also return EWR to a Level 3 slot controlled airport.It was a mistake to de-slot the airport in 2016 -- every single data point says so - and we know that implementing slots is the immediate action the FAA can take to reduce congestion there now.

Pressure is mounting on Paramount Global from both the inside and outside as it considers settling a high-stakes lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump.Lawyers for Trump and Paramount entered mediation last week, signaling the company's potential willingness to resolve the whopping $20 billion suit filed by Trump accusing CBS News of election interference over its handling of the "60 Minutes" interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.That interview, which was part of a primetime election special that also featured her Democratic running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, earned an Emmy nomination last week for Outstanding Edited Interview. Trump slammed the "totally discredited" Emmys on Truth Social in response.CBS SHOULDN'T CELEBRATE EMMY NOM FOR HARRIS INTERVIEW THAT IGNITED NETWORK TURMOIL, INDUSTRY INSIDER SAYSA group of Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., made a direct plea to Shari Redstone, Paramount's controlling shareholder, to not settle the lawsuit, saying it would be a "grave mistake.""Rewarding Trump with tens of millions of dollars for filing this bogus lawsuit will not cause him to back down on his war against the media and a free press," Sanders and the Democrats wrote to Redstone on Tuesday. "It will only embolden him to shakedown, extort and silence CBS and other media outlets that have the courage to report about issues that Trump may not like."CBS NEWS IN CHAOS SINCE DEPARTURE OF 60 MINUTES PRODUCER, WAITING FOR THE NEXT SHOE TO DROP, INSIDER SAYSTheir message may fall on deaf ears as it was previously reported that Redstone was in favor of settling the lawsuit in hopes of paving the way for Paramount's planned merger with Skydance Media and preventing potential retribution by Trump's Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has the authority to halt the multibillion-dollar transaction.Redstone not only wanted to reportedly "keep tabs" on upcoming "60 Minutes" segments involving Trump, she reportedly urged CBS execs to delay any sensitive reporting on Trump until after the merger deal closed with Skydance. That led to the abrupt resignation of "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens, who cited his inability to maintain editorial independence.On the contrary, "60 Minutes" aired a highly critical report last Sunday about Trump's executive order targeting Democratic law firms who've attacked him, the show's staff essentially thumbing their noses at the corporate honcho."Get out of our way and let us keep working how we have been for decades," one CBS News staffer previously told Fox News Digital.Journalists on "60 Minutes" as well as "CBS Evening News" directly linked Paramount's effort to settle Trump's lawsuit to the company's merger plans while giving an on-air salute to Owens.60 MINUTES CALLS OUT CORPORATE OWNER PARAMOUNT ON THE AIR, SAYS PRODUCER WHO QUIT FELT INTERFERED WITHBut it's no longer just stars from CBS' news division speaking out. "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert called out his corporate bosses Tuesday night in an exchange with his guest, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow."There are reports that the owner of this company called the president or called the chairman of this company and said, Yeah, youve got to get the news to lay off any bad Trump stories. And the word is that that was not passed on to the news division, I'm happy to say," the CBS star told Maddow.Liberal critics in the media have lamented the precedent it would set if Paramount settled the lawsuit, which many legal experts have suggested was frivolous, including Georgetown Law Professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, who said he was "unconvinced" by the lawsuit after previously expressing certainty any lawsuit filed over the Harris interview would fail in court.However, Trump has had a string of settlement victories in recent months with ABC News, X and Meta from other legal battles waged by the now-president.The CBS lawsuit stems from the editing of an exchange Harris had with "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker, who asked her why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn't "listening" to the Biden administration.Harris was widely mockedfor the "word salad" answer that aired in a preview clip of the interview on "Face the Nation." However, when the same question aired during the primetime special, Harris had a different, more concise response. Critics at the time accused CBS News of editingHarris' "word salad" answerto shield the then-vice president from further backlash leading up to Election Day.Earlier this year, FCC ChairBrendan Carrordered CBS News to hand over the unedited transcript of the interview as part of its investigation into whether the network violated the FCC's "news distortion" policy after a complaint was filed. CBS had refused to release the unedited transcript when the controversy first began.The released raw transcript and footage showed that both sets of Harris' comments came from the same response, but CBS News had aired only the first half of her response in the "Face the Nation" preview clip and aired the second half during the primetime special.

Biden, Revenge Tour, U.K. Trade Deal

Pope, Conclave, Trade Agreement

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky joins 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the latest on the Justice Department's investigation into AG Letitia James' alleged mortgage fraud.

Biden, Revenge Tour, U.K. Trade Deal

Pope, Conclave, Trade Agreement

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky joins 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the latest on the Justice Department's investigation into AG Letitia James' alleged mortgage fraud.

Charles Barkley is concerned about how Bill Belichicks relationship with Jordon Hudson is affecting the legendary coachs legacy.Hudson shut down a question about how the couple met from Tony Dokoupil during Belichicks interview with "CBS News Sunday Morning," and the interview generated widespread criticism.Barkley, 62, said he's worried about how Belichicks relationship with Hudson has affected the coachs legacy.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM"Man, this thing is so messy. Right now, hes the greatest coach ever, but we are not even talking about that right now, and thats what bothers me," Barkley said during an appearance on OutKicks "Dont @ Me on Dan Dakich.""Thats what really bothers me. He is the greatest coach ever. We arent even talking about that anymore, and Id hate to see it end like that. Because that is going to be the lasting memory right now, and I hate that."ROBERT GRIFFIN III, WIFE RIP BILL BELICHICK AND JORDON HUDSON AFTER CBS INTERVIEW: 'I'VE HAD ENOUGH'Barkley said his friendship with the North Carolina head coach began before Belichick's historic 24-season run with the New England Patriots, when the coach was fired by the Cleveland Browns. The Basketball Hall of Famer said he has not yet directly reached out to Belichick but that the coach has been a great friend to him over the years.Belichick spent last season out of football after his Patriots tenure ended, and he was hired by North Carolina in December to replace Mack Brown.The 73-year-old coach has won eight Super Bowls, six as head coach with the Patriots and two as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator.Follow Fox News Digitals sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.