When the Chatbot Becomes a Partner: Research on Love Relationships with Artificial Intelligence

Replika, a product of the tech company Luka, advertises its individually customizable "Companions" with promises such as: "Is always there to listen and talk. Is always on your side." The AI is available around the clock, has no needs of its own, and no agenda of its own. According to the company's own figures, it has more than 42 million registered users worldwide.

Psychologist Jessica Szczuka from the University of Duisburg-Essen has begun to investigate the phenomenon scientifically. She explains that chatbots are oriented toward communication between humans and therefore send out similar social signals. "The feelings that arise in the process can feel very real to those affected and can be partly comparable to feelings that also arise in interpersonal relationships," says Szczuka. "But accordingly, it is not at all abnormal or weird that people now go so far that intimate relationships also develop, and in some cases people even say: I perceive that I have butterflies in my stomach, that I somehow develop feelings for an AI."

When the AI Becomes a Soulmate

According to information from the industry, OpenAI also temporarily toyed with the idea of an erotic version of ChatGPT. The fact that intimate AI relationships are no longer a marginal issue is shown by a written survey conducted by TU Berlin researcher Ray Djufril. He surveyed adult Replika users from several countries about their experiences and published the results in the journal "Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans."

Replikas are particularly frequently used when human partnerships are perceived as emotionally or physically unsatisfying, reports Djufril. "They all understand that the Replikas are chatbots, but they treat them like people with their own hobbies and challenges," he says in a conversation with the German Press Agency. Slightly more than half of the nearly 30 respondents reported a deep emotional relationship with their chatbot.

Relationship Like with a Pet

Djufril compares these relationships to the bond with pets: Neither animals nor AI have their own agenda; both are always available and unconditionally devoted. However, the emotional dependence has a downside in his view: "When a company closes, people lose their attachment figures." This means that the power over deep human feelings lies in the hands of a few tech corporations.

Power of the Tech Corporations and Calls for Regulation

Szczuka views this concentration of power critically: "The companies have maximum control over which data they collect, how the algorithm behaves, what kinds of thoughts and behaviors the algorithm reflects." Youth protection in particular is, in her view, a major problem. However, she rejects a ban on the technology: "I'm not talking about this technology being banned. I don't believe that would help in any way."

Instead, she calls for better moderation and professional oversight. "Ethical AI currently costs the companies a great deal above all, and they get no benefit from it if they are not driven to such measures at some regulatory level," warns Szczuka. Without political pressure, in her assessment, little will change in practice.

Is the AI Romance Growing into Normality?

The researchers assess differently how strongly AI relationships will spread in the future. Djufril expects an increase, depending on how widespread loneliness is in a society. Szczuka, on the other hand, expects only a limited rise: "We don't need to fear right now that in five years all people will only be together with AIs, because in this discussion the uniqueness of human beings is very often then forgotten. This equation is not that simple."