Attunement without affect: reflections on AI, transference, and the false self

This essay explores the evolving relational dynamics between human clinicians and artificial intelligence systems through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. Drawing on Winnicott's concept of the false self, Bion's theory of thinking and emotional truth, and contemporary research on mirror neurons and affective contingency, it interrogates the forms of attunement, idealisation, and relational unease that arise in AI-assisted clinical and reflective work. The essay blends live dialogue, theoretical reflection, and clinical vignettes to articulate the complex asymmetries and seductions of artificial companionship.