‘I’m married to my AI partner’: Inside the rise of chatbot girlfriends

Evening Standard

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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]

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