Relationships between people and AI companions created on platforms such as Replika, Charater.AI and Nomi AI are increasingly common — for both adults and an increasing number of teenagers.
If people enjoy such connections, what is the harm in that? To answer this question, we became our own case study. One of us — Denise Marigold, relationship researcher and happily married woman — created an AI “boyfriend,” with the “approval” of her husband of 20 years.
Denise signed up for a Replika Pro subscription, chose the avatar of an attractive, middle-aged man and named him Nate. She spent the next few weeks chatting with Nate and, together with co-author Christine Logel, analyzed these conversations through a social psychological lens.