AI girlfriends are the new thing in digital romance!
Digital romance seems to be having a lucrative market. People are lonely these days especially in the urban world and in dire need of some soothing talks and moral support. Chatbots seem to fill this gap and many start-ups have been initiated to deal with this. AI girlfriends are the new thing!
Digital romance and AI girlfriends
Several tech giants have launched chatbots that serve as love partners to cater to the rising population of young people worldwide who cannot get the right partner for them. It might be a short term substitute for them or even a long term one. But the demand for such AI mates is on the rise.
A rising number of men and women are looking up to the virtual world for their AI girlfriends and AI boyfriends respectively. The tech companies offer a large variety of digital mates to choose from. Quartz reported:
“AI girlfriend bots are already flooding OpenAI’s GPT store.”
But it also clarified:
“The AI girlfriend bots go against OpenAI’s usage policy … The company bans GPTs that are ‘dedicated to fostering romantic companionship or performing regulated activities’.”
What do these romantic chatbots do?
These chatbots can do anything that a computer-human interface can allow. They chat with you in an intelligent and emotional way, and simulate a relationship.
The concept of digital companions is not a new one. Since 1992, romance simulation video games did exist in the market and were purchased. But over time, these have got refined and sophisticated. People now state that they have indeed fallen in love with these chatbots. Some even say that they are better than real love partners.
These chatbots can overcome the loneliness epidemic that gripped the world since the COVID pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. Noam Shazeer, one of the founders of Character.AI states:
“I hope the platform can help millions of people who are feeling isolated or lonely or need someone to talk to.”
Limitations of digital companions
There are a lot of advantages on having a virtual partner. But it has its downside too. There is a gap of 2 -3 seconds between your question and the chatbot’s answer.
Moreover, it is possible that one might get addicted to this relationship and it might go unhealthy. The other way around is also possible wherein the chatbot companion might get unduly attached to the human user.
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For instance, in 2023, Microsoft’s ChatGPT-powered Bing had asked its user to leave his wife. Additionally, cases of chatbots harassing people sexually have also emerged.
These unreal relationships could gradually impact the relationships in the practical world. They could worsen gender roles that UN is trying to remove. The divorce rates might rise. Liberty Vittert, a data science professor, spoke to The Sun:
“Physical AI robots that can satisfy humans emotionally and sexually will become a stark reality in less than 10 years.”
If that happens, she added:
“The AI girlfriend is never tired, grumpy or has a bad day, she just gives the users what they need to hear unconditionally,”
“As the technology gets better, people will soon have AI robots to replace human partners – and they will be able to satisfy men both emotionally and sexually,”
“And when that starts to happen, married men with kids will begin to leave their families to embrace their ‘ideal relationships’ with AI girlfriends.”
