I can’t say that I agree with you Hugh, what you are be describing would be the digital equivalent of a sociopath, i.e. something that pretends to be whatever you want it to be, and that just isn’t that useful.

Empathy is a uniquely conscious trait that requires something alive rather than a more sophisticated chess simulation. In some ways we are designing society and its human inhabitants to behave more and more like bots, e.g. call centre workers reading from scripts, so you’re probably right that these humans, like Uber drivers, will be replaced by machines but this doesn’t mean it’s ok.

The provocateur and former manager of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren, summed it up nicely in this, his last, talk in front of 1,000 educators at around the 49 minute mark as he closes. He considers the use of technology in the way you describe and compares it to “f@cking an inflatable doll”.

Well worth a listen