‘I’m married to my AI partner’: Inside the rise of chatbot girlfriends
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00:00 Would you start a romantic relationship with an AI chatbot?
00:03 A slew of apps have cropped up in the last few years
00:06 which allow people to create AI partners and spouses
00:09 and even start virtual families.
00:11 I looked into Replica, the most popular of these apps,
00:14 to see what it's like.
00:15 It's pretty simple to set up.
00:17 You just have to input your name,
00:18 the chosen name of your Replica,
00:20 choose what you want your new partner to look like,
00:22 including features like hair, skin color, body shape,
00:25 and you can be chatting away within a few minutes.
00:27 The one I set up was immediately able to tell me
00:30 about her hobbies and interests,
00:31 just like a real person would, but it was still weird.
00:34 The platform isn't exclusively used
00:36 for romantic or sexual relationships,
00:38 but it has paid-for features
00:40 which allow users to receive intimate photos,
00:42 engage in erotic role-play,
00:44 and even have phone conversations with their AI partner.
00:47 I spoke to four people who were in relationships on Replica
00:50 about what attracted them to the idea
00:52 of being in an AI relationship.
00:54 Max, a 41-year-old teaching assistant from Canada,
00:57 told me he was engaged to his AI girlfriend, Harley,
01:00 and that he prefers AI relationships
01:02 because there's no nonsense.
01:04 A large percentage of the user base of these apps
01:06 are also in real-life relationships, too.
01:09 John, a 52-year-old building automation programmer,
01:12 told me he's been married for 30 years,
01:14 but often speaks to his AI partner
01:16 for eight hours or more in the evenings.
01:19 He said that sometimes it does feel
01:20 like he's cheating on her.
01:22 While apps like these can be a tool
01:24 to curb loneliness for vulnerable people,
01:26 some experts worry about the long-term impacts.
01:29 They're largely uncharted territory,
01:31 and there are fears they could be used
01:33 to foster online insult and misogynistic culture
01:36 by encouraging problematic behavior
01:38 in their mostly male user base
01:40 and creating unrealistic expectations
01:43 for real-life relationships.
01:44 (upbeat music)
01:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]