Romantic and sexual attachments to AI companions have increased as AI tools grow more sophisticated and gain mainstream acceptance. Nearly one in five people overall, and one quarter of adults aged 18 to 29, have used romance-simulating AI chatbots. Seven percent of respondents admitted to masturbating while chatting with AI companions, and 13 percent reported watching AI-generated porn. Men were more likely than women to watch AI-generated porn, and younger adults were more than twice as likely as older adults to engage with AI and to prefer AI over real human relationships. Engagement with AI companions correlates with higher self-reported depression and loneliness, and the direction of that association remains unclear.
As AI tools grow more sophisticated and gain more mainstream acceptance, so too has interest in these digital paramours increased - but these romantic chatbots may be doing more harm than good to the humans that are so attached to them. In a new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, researchers from Brigham Young University found not only that enormous numbers of people are engaging with AI companions, but that many of them seem to be more depressed and lonely than those who don't.
Based on an survey that asked 2,989 respondents, the researchers found that nearly one in five people overall - and a full quarter of young adults aged 18 to 29 - had already used a romance-simulating AI chatbot. Along with that large proportion of Americans who've experimented with AI companions, the BYU researchers also learned that seven percent of the survey respondents admitted to masturbating when chatting with AI companions, and an additional 13 percent copped to watching AI-generated porn. Men were reportedly much more likely to watch AI porn than women, and younger adults were more than twice as likely as older to engage with AI generally - as well as to say they prefer AI over a real human relationship.
Collection
[
|
...
]