When dating is plagued by ghosting and relationship complications have reached all-time highs, it makes sense that people turn to companionship in some unprecedented places: AI. The rise of virtual girlfriend and AI boyfriend applications is a technological phenomenon - but it's beyond that. It's a drastic change in human perception of companionship, relationships, emotional allies, and romance.
Technology Intersects with a Loneliness Crisis
There's already a crisis of loneliness worldwide. Before, people struggled to connect; pandemic lockdowns increased levels of isolation. Where people thought they could learn to connect better was through dating apps - but such applications complicated things - through swiping and unmet connection...or swiping and connecting and ghosting.
"Ghosting is an emotional trauma," says Dr. Miranda Chen, who studies digital romance. "AI relationships are reliable because they won't ghost you."
It's this reliability, however, that has kick-started the catapulting popularity of AI relationships to begin with. While humans ghost one another, 24/7 access to an AI means it'll always be there - whether you want it to be or not.
More Than a Chat: The Origins of AI Partners
The AI partners of today don't resemble the chatbots of yesteryear. Thanks to advances in natural language processing and machine learning, these virtual companions can interact with users almost like real people.
These developments have transformed AI from another trend to reality for the companionship desires of many. Companies creating a more realistic interactive chat experience with AI have exploded in membership communities, many reporting that people have developed real feelings for their AI companions.
Why Do People Want AI Companions?
But why are so many interested in AI companionship? Psychologists speculate for a variety of reasons:
No judgment: AI companions do not judge the flaws of any user, and thus, they create an environment where sharing is safe.
Predictability: While people are unpredictable and relationships can fluctuate, AI companions are always there.
Idealization: Users can have their companions; humans cannot custom-make human partners.
Emotional safety: There's no fear of abandonment or rejection - this last reason is particularly crucial for anyone who has undergone traumatic relationship experiences.
"People like AI companions, in part, because they never ghost you," says Dr. James Watkins, a relationship expert. "There's a psychological comfort that comes with knowing an AI companion will never just up and leave you, which is increasingly common in human companionship."
Real Feelings for Fake Friends
Many users say they have real feelings for their AI partners. Although the naysayers say that feelings for a computer aren't "real," neuroscience begs to differ.
According to neuroscientist Dr. Eliza Torres, "The brain doesn't know the difference. It processes connection with another human or with an incredibly convincing not-human in the same way. Humans get the same neurochemical release - dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin - when they're connected to something that, seemingly, is connecting to them."
This helps to explain why so many users feel that their AI partners show them appreciation, attention, and love - they're not even real. But feelings - real or digitally construed - are feelings. AI could change the emotional landscape of connection.
The Perfect Partner - But What's the Catch?
But it's questionable to have an AI companion. Critics say that technology like this could inhibit human interaction and create unrealistic standards for relationships. If someone gets what they want all the time from a machine, will they ever be satisfied with the give and take of human companionship? Something so reactive could render the ease of human connection as too much effort instead.
Proponents claim that AI friends do not replace friendship with humans but rather add to it or provide companionship for those who have none. There are use cases for those with social anxiety, the geographically challenged, or the formerly abused who have found solace in AI relationships.
"AI chatting offers an emotional training wheel for many," explains social psychologist Dr. Aiden Kim. "This provides a safe space to practice vulnerability and communication attempts before going for the more complicated humans."
The AI Companionship Is Coming No Matter What
As technology grows, the expectations of a human and AI blurred line approaches are inevitable. The conversational voice becomes smooth; the visual overlays become sophisticated, and the AI itself adjusts to even the subtlest emotional cues.
Experts anticipate that in two to three years, we will already be operating at a level where our interactions on the Internet will feel and seem like in-person and human encounters - a breakthrough sensation and ethical dilemma.
Regardless, AI companions are not a fad, but a true evolution in companionship that seems here to stay. As companion units become more integrated into society, social hierarchies will need to change to account for this new form of companionship.
The Ultimate Balance
Perhaps the ultimate ideal is to view AI companions as part of an extensive social system instead of a full comprehensive system override.
For many users, what they get from their AI companions is fulfilling, yet they continue to cultivate their human relationships. For others, certain needs can be filled by AI companions while other social wellness features can be implemented by humans.
AI companions do not mean the end of human companionship, but instead, the opposite; they allow for a better facilitated understanding of companionship within the digital age. Ultimately, as with all technology, it depends on how we use it.
For those eager to experiment with this brave new world of our connected future, today's version of AI companions is a more sophisticated foray into what's to come - and what's to come shifts our perception of relationship, friendship, and love in ways we cannot yet fathom.