Humans tell stories that convey human meaning about people in a complex world.

Stories connect us, and our brains, emotionally through empathic responses.

Humans can distinguish stories created by other humans from those created by AI.

Human beings tell stories. And they tell them all the time. About 40 percent of all everyday conversation involves some form of storytelling—sharing the moments of our day, gossiping about the exploits of others, commiserating with friends over past tragedies, and sharing laughter over past joys. Can artificial intelligence (AI) share stories with us? And can these stories be meaningful?

Research from The Family Narratives Lab has shown that shared family storytelling begins virtually at birth, with parents and grandparents whispering stories into infants’ ears, and continues throughout the preschool years, as parents help their young ones structure their experience into coherent story forms. By the end of the preschool years, children are able to tell stories that follow a discernable chronology, but perhaps more important, even these early stories include emotional aspects: intentions, motivations, and emotions of the characters and why people behave as they do, as well as evaluative aspects of characters and events—if what happened was good or bad, if people acted out of love or anger. We tell stories that convey human meaning about people in a complex world.

Through adolescence, these stories become more complicated and more individual—both stories that we tell about ourselves and others. Stories begin to include more and more information about why people (including ourselves) behave as they do; stories include more complex perspectives and a more nuanced understanding of human........

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