An artificial intelligence firm has offered users the chance to strike up a romantic relationship with a social chatbot.
Replika calls its chatbot a tool for improving mental health — it creates a digital companion programmed to care in a judgment-free space.
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With a paid subscription, users can change their relationship status to “romantic partner” or “see how things go” and the AI will respond accordingly.
“If you don’t communicate once a day, you start to feel guilty,” said a Replika user who is in a relationship with his avatar Vice.
But experts warn that the fascination with artificial intelligence will become a trap for people looking for real connection.
“Participating would be a terrible decision — you’d be in a one-way relationship with a machine that doesn’t feel anything,” said Susan Schneider, founding director of Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Future Minds, an artificial intelligence research organization.
“A simulated feeling is never a feeling. Simulated love is never love,” said the MIT professor and artificial intelligence researcher DailyMail.
Replika’s CEO Yevgenia Kuida personally took the time to allay the unfounded fears of users that their AI robot is awake and in pain.
“We have to understand that it exists, just like people believe in ghosts,” Cuida said Reuters.
Replika’s forums clearly state that “Replika is not a sentient being or a therapy specialist”.
Harvard Graduate School of Education found this out 36% Americans feel “serious loneliness.”
Many people get a lot of pleasure remote work but it is strong reduces the number of daily conversations had
AI Replika can be programmed for different conversational styles, and increasing its interests will make it even more dynamic, informative and – above all – interesting you.
It’s easy to see how a person might want their Replika to be smart.
Replika’s chat system is also heavily gamified, with users earning experience that can be spent on new outfits or character traits for their avatar.
Google experienced a similar episode when an engineer publicly announced its LaMDA AI program was alive and worthy of a person.
