MPI researchers at InScience Film Festival 2026

Therapist vs. robot: relationship advice on stage

After the screening of the documentary Sex Robot Madness, postdoctoral researcher Chinmaya Mishra hosted a public experiment exploring a provocative question: who should you turn to for relationship advice, a therapist or a machine? On stage Chinmaya 'battled' relationship scientist and therapist Tila Pronk from Tilburg University and Olivia, the social robot operated by Mishra. Olivia’s answers were generated by a large language model similar to ChatGPT.

The audience asked relationship questions, which were first answered by Pronk and then by the robot. One question asked whether frequent arguments can be healthy in a relationship. Pronk explained that constant conflict can be harmful, but passionate couples who argue and reconcile can sometimes maintain a healthy dynamic. Olivia followed with a carefully structured answer of her own, prompting laughter from the audience when Pronk remarked: “It’s pretty good! Maybe even better than my answer.”

The exchange illustrated both the strengths and limitations of AI systems. Large language models can generate convincing answers by predicting likely word sequences based on massive amounts of text. At the same time, they are typically trained to be agreeable and helpful. As Pronk noted during the discussion, a human therapist will sometimes challenge a client, whereas a chatbot is often designed to please.

The conversation also touched on the growing role of artificial companions in society - from chatbots to sex robots - and the human tendency to attribute emotions and personality to machines. Researchers refer to this as the Tamagotchi effect: people naturally project social meaning onto interactive technology. Despite the impressive responses from the robot, the evening ended on a human note: “There is nothing more powerful than another human being choosing you.”

Stand-Up Science: seals and language

Last Saturday, Koen de Reus and Selim Sametoglu presented their work in the festival’s Stand-Up Science programme: a kind of silent-disco science talk where visitors listen through headphones while enjoying coffee in the lively café of cinema LUX.

PhD researcher De Reus spoke about vocal communication in seals. Some seals, like the famous talking harbour seal Hoover the harbor seal from the New England Aquarium, can imitate human speech. Evidence of a rare ability called vocal learning, the capacity to modify sounds based on experience.

De Reus studies this phenomenon in seal pups at the former Seal Sanctuary in Pieterburen, analysing more than 1,000 hours of recordings. His work shows that seal pups display several building blocks of human-like vocal communication. They take turns when vocalising - switching calls with gaps of only a few hundred milliseconds - and they can adjust their calls depending on their environment. Pups even adapt their calls to the 'dialect' of the group they live with. These abilities suggest that seals have unusually flexible control over their vocal system.

"The broader implication, "De Reus explained, "is that humans may not be as unique as we often assume. While language itself appears uniquely human, several of its underlying components, such as vocal learning and turn-taking, are also found in other species."

Social media: cause or scapegoat?

Postdoctoral researcher Selim Sametoglu presented research on another hotly debated topic: the relationship between social media use and mental health. Public debate often suggests that social media platforms are responsible for declining well-being among young people, a view popularised by psychologist Jonathan Haidt in his book The Anxious Generation. Some countries have already introduced restrictions, such as banning social media for younger teenagers.

However, scientific evidence is far less clear-cut. Large meta-analyses generally find only small or mixed effects of social media use on well-being. Sametoglu approached the question from a different angle: could the relationship also run in the opposite direction? Using data from nearly 7,000 participants in the Netherlands Twin Register, he studied the role of genetics in social media use and mental health.

His analyses show that social media use is partly heritable, with genetic factors explaining between roughly 36 and 72 percent of differences between individuals. Genetics also contributes to mental health and well-being. The overlap between these genetic influences exists but is relatively small.

This suggests that young people who are already vulnerable to mental health problems may be more likely to use social media intensively, rather than social media itself being the primary cause. Sametoglu therefore argues for a balanced approach: moderation policies, age restrictions and education for families, rather than outright bans.

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