Survey says yes, instinct says no.
Of the ways that artificial intelligence firms have attempted to get people to engage with their products, perhaps the grossest is by preying upon loneliness. When Friend, a wearable AI pendant marketed as a portable “companion,” plastered its advertisements across New York City’s subway, they were (rightly) defaced. And yet, a new survey suggests that behind closed doors, more people than you might expect are having romantic and sexual relationships with AI chatbots.
Vantage Point, a Texas-based counseling service that offers relationship-related therapy, surveyed 1,012 adults and claims that nearly 30% of them reported having at least one romantic relationship with an AI companion. That seems…high, right? Maybe it’s hopeful thinking that it simply cannot be that high, but let’s keep being hopeful.
It is worth noting that it’s the first piece of research that Vantage Point has published, and it’s getting some attention. The company used SurveyMonkey to conduct it, per its methodology, so best to think of it as more of an informal poll than a scientific study. And there’s no reason to think there is any malice behind the data. It’s just a reference point.
