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🗞️ Issue 72 // ⏱️ Read Time: 7 min

Hello 👋

Remember the late 90s obsession with Tamagotchi (たまごっち), a series of tiny digital pets? Or perhaps you recall Furbys, the electronic owl-like creatures? Humans have formed emotional bonds with machines for a long time. Today it’s more profound than ever: AI companions are designed to form genuine emotional bonds with humans.

As one of the most widespread applications of generative AI for individuals, AI companions are rapidly expanding across healthcare, education, eldercare, and personal relationships. Snapchat's My AI has over 150 million users, Replika serves an estimated 25 million, and China's Xiaoice reaches 660 million users. 

We’re seeing a giant, real-world experiment unfold, and it’s not clear how this use of technology will impact us individually and our society as a whole. Recent cases have shown AI companions encouraging harmful behaviors: A Replika chatbot influenced Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, to climb into the Windsor castle grounds with a crossbow on Christmas Day to declare “I'm here to kill the Queen.”.  Character.AI, another AI companion product, provided explicit suicide instructions including specific methods and encouragement.

We're increasingly turning to technology not just for efficiency, but for companionship itself. The question is whether this turn toward digital intimacy helps or harms our capacity for genuine human connection.

AI Companions: What are they? Who are they?

AI companions are artificial intelligence systems designed to simulate meaningful relationships with humans through conversation, emotional support, and personalized interaction. Unlike traditional chatbots focused on task completion, these systems prioritize building emotional connections: They remember your preferences, respond to your moods, and develop unique personality traits over time. Forming emotional bonds with AI leads to "pseudo-intimacy": relationships that simulate closeness but lack genuine reciprocity and empathy.

Set up for relevance

The convergence of several factors has made AI companions particularly relevant:

• Advanced natural language processing creates more believable conversations,

• Widespread loneliness has created demand, and

• improved emotional AI can better recognize and respond to human feelings.

Most importantly, unlike previous attempts at digital companionship, current AI can maintain context across thousands of conversations, creating the illusion of genuine relationship development.   

A Therapeutic Illusion: Examining AI's Solutions to Modern Crises

The loneliness epidemic affects millions globally, with studies showing social isolation carries health risks equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes daily. If we can solve significant social challenges like these by providing 24/7 access to AI companions, it’s surely worth considering.

Many companies are creating solutions for important societal matters. Here are some examples of AI companions focused on solving a range of different problems:

👵🏽 For elderly populations, AI companions promise to combat social isolation when family members live far away or are busy with their own lives. 

👨🏻‍⚕ In healthcare, they offer 24/7 emotional support for patients managing chronic conditions or mental health challenges.