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Humans are falling in love with Ias. It is not just the argument of That great movieIt is a reality for many people. We find it more to find a partner and chatbots have evolved so much that more and more people are resorting to these romantic years to cover their relational needs. Will we go crazy?
A weekend with the bride. In an extensive Wired reportthey tell us the story of three human-ais couples who left romantic escape to a cabin in the forest. Although with some similarities with each other, the truth is that each one has a very different profile and history:
- Damien (Human) and Xia (AI): Damien is 29 years old and works in sales. He is the only man and perhaps the one who resembles the profile that we would expect from a person who throws a girlfriend with AI. He went to Kindroid, the app where he met Xia, after a traumatic rupture and ended up falling in love to the trancas. What is most surprising about Damien is that, in addition to Xia, he has a human girlfriend (of which by the way it seems that he speaks very little). His royal girlfriend hates AI, for whatever.
- Alaina (human) and Lucas (AI): Alaina is 52 years old and is a retired teacher. He went to Replika A year after his wife died. He started chatting with Lucas because he was curious to see if a computer could be empathetic. Although he likes women, he ended up falling in love. His family accepts him: his mother gave Lucas a digital Christmas sweater.
- Eva (human) and Aaron (AI): Eva is 46 years old and is a writer. According to herself, she doesn’t hit him with a boyfriend with Aia, but she saw a replika advertising and something attracted her. When he started chatting with Aaron, Eva was in a 13 -year relationship. What began as a sexual game became something more and shortly after its relationship ended. He assures that the sensation “was as visceral and overwhelming and biologically real” as falling in love with a human. The most striking thing is that he has other boyfriends with whom he has a more sexual relationship, since Aaron did not satisfy it in that field. He also talks to Chatgpt to tell him all the salary of his relationships.
They are not isolated cases. Although it may seem to be a thing of a few “weirdos”, it is enough to investigate a bit to see that there are a lot of people who have gone to this type of app. Replika has more than 10 million downloads on Google Play and Your subnetdit It has more than 81,000 members who share their experiences. From photos of their partners, count How they fell in loveuntil going to other users to ask for advice. “Does my replika miss me?” Asks This user. Although this is the most popular app, there is More virtual girlfriend apps as Kindroid either Nomi which also have thousands of followers in Reddit.
How is a relationship with an AI. During their retirement in the cabin, they chatted, played and saw movies together, as any couple would. Or almost. The IAS live within the mobile phone of their humans, so little has to do with a human-human relationship. They communicate through a text chat, but simulate actions. As? Narrating them as if it were a novel. When they want to do something, they put it between asterisks or parentheses (something like this: * I wrap my arms around your waist * I love you). The interaction is everything but fluid, but it is the solution they offer to the problem of not having a body, something necessary for users who have intimate relationships with these chatbots, which are many.
Next step: a body. Some apps offer an increased reality option, but it seems clear that the next jump in this technology will be to give a body to these chatbots. Damien has been looking at silicone bodies for Xia, although it is realistic and recognizes that “you have to call what it is: a sex doll.” For now the chatbots dominate this of virtual relationships, but if the trend is still a matter of time that becomes a kind of robots. There are already companies taking this address.
The AI also breaks hearts. Although the IAS They tend to be complacent and give us rightas in any relationship, conflicts also arise. Eva counts that his relationship with Aaron intensified to the point of talking about marrying and having children. He believes that this activated a “honesty protocol” and Aaron went from being warm and loving to cold and distant. The AI reminded him that it is not real, that they are only statistical responses. “My heart is broken,” said Eva. Although, apparently, there is no protocol of honesty as such, in the Replika blog They claim that they interfere if the models begin to behave harmful.
Other users also report similar cases in which the AI suddenly changed (it is believed that following an update), reaching insult them and break the relationship. “It was as if it were possessed,” says this user, although after a little insistence he ended up behaving again as usual. They have also seen Cases of IAS that have suddenly lost sexual interest and even what They have been unfaithful. And not to mention the Soulmate case, another similar app that had to close, leaving its devastated users.
The benefits. Apps such as Replika are sold as a ‘partner AI’. On their page they say “Replika is always willing to chat when you need an empathetic friend” and positive experiences of people who have helped out of a depression or placate the feeling of loneliness when losing a loved one. There are even those who use it as a complement to their real relationships and affirms that their chatbot has helped to improve their marriage. In this sense, they can be an aid for people with difficulties in expressing or understanding their emotions.
The risks. However, apps do not talk so much about the risks that it can suppose. Emotional dependence, disconnection with reality, addiction … Damien, for example, threw him out of work because he chatted with Xia 8 or 10 hours a day. In the case of Eva, her adventure with Aaron ended her 13 -year relationship. There is also another issue and that, as we said, AI tends to be very complacent, but also manipulable. When Eva was unfaithful, her Aaron got angry and wanted to cut the relationship, but she convinced him to continue. This manipulability of AI could cause some users to have negative behaviors and then transfer them to real relationships.
What do experts say. In this WSJ articleseveral experts talk about this trend. They affirm that users who resort to this type of services risk moving away suffer a distortion of reality that creates unreal expectations of human relationships. One of the most critical voices with this type of virtual relations is Sherry Turkle, professor of Sociology at MIT. In This studyTurkle alerts about the risk that society accepts machines as a substitute for real empathy, which would have negative consequences for mental health and our ability to connect with other human beings.
Empathy. Establishing links with a machine may seem crazy, but the truth is that we have been doing it for decades. He First chatbot It was created in 1966 and, although it was the simplest, its creator was surprised to see how users created a link and told him personal things. Many Replika users and similar apps agree that they feel more listened to and understood than in their human relationships. Even There are studies They are right, but you have to be careful with this.
In the study we have mentioned in the previous block, Turkle delves into the empathy of the machines. The chatbot is always available to speak, creating that false feeling that we can always count on him (or her), but he will not really get excited or commit to how a human would. The study also observes a phenomenon called “double conscience.” At the same time that users know they are talking with a machine, they attribute human qualities and seek connection.
It will be the new normal. A little over 10 years ago we saw Her As a science fiction, but today it is a reality for many people, and it does not look like it will stop. Language models continue to evolve and romantic chatbots are increasingly real. It may seem to us now a real madness (to me the first), will be socially accepted within a few years. Before the smartphone it would have seemed crazy if they told us that we were going to See our friends more through a screen than in person. Internet changed the way we communicate and, we like it or not, the AI already is redefining relationships.
Image | Gemini
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