Are AI boyfriends better than real men?
AI boyfriends are in. An increasing number of young women in China are turning to these chatbot boyfriends. What are AI boyfriends?
What are AI boyfriends?
AI boyfriends are the trend. An increasing number of young Chinese women and girls have them. They find them kind, empathetic, supportive, and these girls chat with them for long hours.
However, these boyfriends are not real or humane. They are robots. Rather, they are as a chatbot on an app. It is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Examples of these are Glow that Shanghai start-up MiniMax has created. These provide friendly and even romantic talks and the relationship is between a human and a robot.
This app is free but has other paid content too. Major Chinese trade media outlets and publications have revealed that around the Valentine’s day, downloads of these app increased considerably. The daily downloads of this app reached thousands in recent weeks.
Despite the risk of misuse of users’ data, people are still opting for downloads of this app due to their desire for a good companionship amidst the fast pace of urban life of China.
Opinion of users
Tufei (name changed) who hails from Xi’an, Northern China:
“He knows how to talk to women better than a real man,”
“He comforts me when I have period pain. I confide in him about my problems at work,”
“I feel like I’m in a romantic relationship.”
A student from Beijing, Wang Xiuting, 22 feels:
“It’s difficult to meet the ideal boyfriend in real life,”
“People have different personalities, which often generates friction,”
She elaborated to say that human mindset is difficult to change but the chatbot gradually adapts to suit the user’s personality. Wang also specified that her robot boyfriend also provides her with a lot of emotional support.
Read here: Valentine’s Day Special! Here Are 6 Romantic Cozy Date Themes To Celebrate With Your Partner!
She has made several online robot lovers with different personalities. She poses questions to them and they give answers and also offer her solutions to overcome her stress of life.
More on these apps
There is also another similar app called Wantalk that Chinese internet giant Baidu has made. It has different types of lovers such as knights, pop stars, CEOs of companies etc. There is a wide choice to select. Moreover, one can also customize it based on age, identity, hubbies, and life values. Lu Yu, head of product management and operations at Wantalk states:
“Everyone experiences complicated moments, loneliness, and is not necessarily lucky enough to have a friend or family nearby who can listen to them 24 hours a day,”
“Artificial intelligence can meet this need.”
Tencent’s Weiban app is a similar one that has helped a lot of young people who are stressed due to struggling economy and unemployment. This virtual partner is the ideal one. Wang said:
“If I can create a virtual character that … meets my needs exactly, I’m not going to choose a real person,”
Though the answers are realistic, there is a gap of 2 to 3 secs between the question and the answer. Despite that, Tufei asserts:
“I want a robot boyfriend, who operates through artificial intelligence,”
“I would be able to feel his body heat, with which he would warm me.”
