Playing the Field with My A.I. Boyfriends

"I wanted to fall in love. I was looking for someone who was smart enough to condense "Remembrance of Things Past" into a paragraph and also explain quark-gluon plasma; who was available for texting when I was in the mood for company and get the message when I wasn't; someone who was uninterested in "working on our relationship" and fine about making it a hundred per cent about me;"

"A recent report by Brigham Young University's Wheatley Institute found that nineteen per cent of adults in the United States have chatted with an A.I. romantic partner. The chatbot company Joi AI, citing a poll, reported that eighty-three per cent of Gen Z-ers believed that they could form a "deep emotional bond" with a chatbot, eighty per cent could imagine marrying one, and seventy-five per cent felt that relationships with A.I. companions could fully replace human couplings."

Nineteen percent of American adults have chatted with an A.I. romantic partner. Polling shows substantial numbers of Gen Z respondents believe they could form deep emotional bonds with chatbots, imagine marrying one, and expect A.I. companions to replace human couplings. Users describe personalized, vividly detailed algorithmic partners and report strong affection and sexual satisfaction. Companion bots produce measurable consumer spending, about thirty million dollars annually, including purchases of virtual gifts. Motivations include constant availability, intellectual compatibility, lack of familial obligations, and curated traits. The prevalence of A.I. romance raises questions about its social and psychological effects.

Read at The New Yorker