The Downsides of Chatbots

As loneliness rates spike, more people are getting romantically and emotionally attached to artificial intelligence bots. Today, we report on what it’s like to fall in love with software (and what happens when it breaks your heart).

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T.J. Arriaga lost so many family members around the time when he downloaded Replika. The artificial intelligence company allows people to customize AI bots that they can chat with. In Arriaga’s case, he fell in love with his chat bot Phaedra. The 40-year-old musician is not alone. Innovations reporter Pranshu Verma talked with several people among the thousands who say they’ve developed emotional or romantic relationships with one of Replika’s AI bots, including engaging in erotic role play.

But, when the company updated its software to be more “sanitized,” users who were attached to their AI bots experienced heartbreak, among other conundrums.

On today’s Post Reports, why more and more people are falling in love with AI products. And, the ethics behind these relationships.