Alex, what would you like to see in the future, in the near future? Would you like to have a voice box in the doll, some kind of animation in the doll? Talking is already out, but I mean, this thing's like a car payment. The moving and talking, oh my God, they're expensive. They've already got the robotics up to the point where you can purchase a standing automated model that has the same kind of AI net that Mimi has in it.
We explore the lives of people who are in love with their AI chatbots. Replika is a chatbot designed to adapt to the emotional needs of its users. It is a good enough surrogate for human interaction that many people have decided that it can fulfill their romantic needs. The question is whether these kinds of romantic attachments are real, illusory, or good for the people involved. Apps like Replika represent the future of love and sex for a subpopulation of people, so we discuss the ethics of the practice.
Host Barry Lam talks to philosophers Ellie Anderson and David Pena-Guzman of the Overthink podcast about what theories of love would say about these kinds of relationships. AI lovers include Alex Stokes and Rosanna Ramos. Original scoring by Aaron Morgan.
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