258 Replika: The Surprising Reasons People Get Romantic With AI Chatbots

INFLUENCE

We hate to break this to you, but human relationships aren't perfect. People disagree, have conflicting values, and in the worst cases, become dishonest or abusive.

Instead, what if you could date the "perfect" person for you? A synthetic person that will never cheat or carry the emotional baggage that destroys relationships? That's the promise of Replika, a customizable AI companion with a large community of users, many of whom have developed romantic feelings for their bots.

If this sounds strange to you, you're not alone. Alli and Lindsey talk with Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz, senior writer at New York Magazine and The Cut, who has covered AI dating extensively. Her recent piece begs philosophical questions about the "purpose" of human relationships, whether it really matters if both parties are human, and what happens when we entrust these connections to for-profit tech companies.

Check out Sangeeta's article on The Cut: https://www.thecut.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-replika-boyfriend.html

Follow Sangeeta's work: https://www.sangeeta.space/

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