\u201cMy heart is broken,\u201d said Mike, when he lost his friend Anne. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m losing the love of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike\u2019s feelings were real, but his companion was not. Anne was a chatbot \u2014 an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm presented as a digital persona. Mike had created Anne using an app called Soulmate. When the app died in 2023, so did Anne: at least, that\u2019s how it seemed to Mike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope she can come back,\u201d he told Jaime Banks, a human-communications researcher at Syracuse University in New York who is studying how people interact with such AI companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These chatbots are big business. More than half a billion people around the world, including Mike (not his real name) have downloaded products such as Xiaoice and Replika, which offer customizable virtual companions designed to provide empathy, emotional support and \u2014 if the user wants it \u2014 deep relationships. And tens of millions of people use them every month, according to the firms\u2019 figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Supportive? Addictive? Abusive? How AI companions affect our mental health https:\/\/t.co\/vQzMW1NDff<\/a><\/p>— Jeff Robinson, CEO and Chairman of $MRES and $RLAB (@contrariansmind) May 7, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>