# An AI lover? Is this real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 14, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663 "2026-02-14T16:36:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/61 "2026-02-15T16:04:45Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > My theory is that if sex is declining, it’s probably part of a broader trend of social isolation in society. > > Yes, but what’s driving that social isolation? To a very large extent, technology. And then COVID killed what was left of our community spaces and this is what we’re left with. Very much so. That technology has reduced much of the friction in day to day life to the point where people mostly expect it now. You want something, go to Amazon and order it and it just shows up in a day or so. You want a date, go to a dating app and keep swiping until you get one. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m sure a lot of modern day AI companionship is driven by the certainty that women are all whores, as well. Nothing new under the sun. I don’t think it’s a “a certainty that women are all whores” as it is wishful thinking. That you can engage women in sex without any emotional or social consequences as a transaction rather than dealing with an actual person. There’s been plenty of fictional takes on the “fembot” or “autonomous female companion” over the years too. What’s not appealing about the notion that for a reasonable price, any dork can purchase a robot sex slave who looks like pretty much whoever they want it to look like and it will do whatever you ask it to without complaint? Except as soon as they gain a bit of sentience, it usually ends badly for their owner. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/62 "2026-02-15T16:46:13Z")
I see one heck of a lot of single women with a dog, not a boyfriend. Fewer men, but they do it too. And we’ve all seen bumper stickers like “If my dog doesn’t like you, neither do I” and “The more I know about dogs the less I like people”. All of these attachments are a different manifestation of the same motivation that gets people attached to AIs. It’s the easy convenient version of a relationship, and the version where you’re the one in unquestioned charge. A salve for the otherwise lonely, or a trap for the unwary? Both for sure but which effect is larger or more harmful to society at large? Hard to say yet. We’ve talked several times over the years about the consequences of being a Doper. Is it a good social outlet and social support system, or is it “social methadone” where it gives the illusion of being social and supportive while not delivering the goods. And instead mostly crowding out actual social with actual in-person people and leaving little of real value in its place. Heck if I know. My bottom line: These urges to make friends with anything and to avoid some of the pain inherent in human interaction dates back to the apes. AI is a new scratcher for an ancient itch. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/63 "2026-02-15T16:49:01Z")
And just in time for Valentine’s, a Verge reporter checks out a pop-up AI dating cafe in New York: [My uncanny AI valentines | The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/report/879327/eva-ai-cafe-dating-ai-companions) Ah, it’s paywalled. CNN video here: [https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/14/us/video/artificial-intelligence-date-valentines-day-nyc-digvid](https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/14/us/video/artificial-intelligence-date-valentines-day-nyc-digvid) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/64 "2026-02-15T16:56:40Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m sure a lot of modern day AI companionship is driven by the certainty that women are all whores, as well. You are probably right, unfortunately. I am lucky to be married to a bright, cheerful, woman who shares my sense of humour. It probably shows in what I’m writing: I noticed that, without making a conscious effort about it, a lot of my characters are strong, capable women… ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/65 "2026-02-15T17:02:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My bottom line: These urges to make friends with anything and to avoid some of the pain inherent in human interaction dates back to the apes. AI is a new scratcher for an ancient itch. Yeah, exactly. I also wonder what the (human) demographics of this looks like. Does it mostly attract teenage males, or something more like the typical romance novel audience? Does it fulfill the need for companionship across all the lonely users equally well, or are certain personality types most susceptible to its, er, charms? ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/66 "2026-02-15T17:07:38Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I also wonder what the (human) demographics of this looks like. Does it mostly attract teenage males, or something more like the typical romance novel audience? Interesting question. Most of the reports I’ve seen seem to highlight women ‘of a certain age’, as the saying used to go. Teenage males are perhaps more likely to just use it for masturbation fantasies, rather than emotional involvement, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/67 "2026-02-15T17:22:29Z")
Both of the reporters sent to the AI dating cafe were women. That could’ve just been a coincidence, or maybe they were trying to appeal to a certain segment of their viewers? Hard to say. The one lady the CNN person interviewed called herself a (something illegible)-sexual who ONLY dates AIs. (maybe [Fictosexuality - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictosexuality) ?) She’s not exactly the stereotypical vision of an incel, either, but rather just a normal seeming, pretty, young woman. Her reason was that it was safer and more secure than trying to date humans. Can’t say I find fault with that argument. The restaurant dates they were having certainly seem less stressful than the numerous dick pic horror stories my women friends tell me about… ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/68 "2026-02-15T17:30:44Z")
Hmm, from that Wikipedia article: > Fictosexuals may face [discrimination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination) or [marginalization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginalization).[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictosexuality#cite_note-:52-7)[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictosexuality#cite_note-:22-8) As a result, some have formed [social movements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_movements) to combat normative beliefs they call “human-oriented sexualism” and “humanogenderism”. In 2019, the first fictosexual advocacy group was established in [Taiwan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan).[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictosexuality#cite_note-:0-9)[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictosexuality#cite_note-:22-8) This reminds me of the development of the DSM (a diagnostics book commonly used in the US mental health industry), whose earlier versions classified many now-normalized sexual preferences as pathologies to be treated and “cured”. Homosexuality in particular was classified as a disorder until the 70s. Today we look at AI lovers as weird and maybe creepy, but maybe in a generation or two it’d be seen as totally normal? Even online dating (with other humans) was seen as weird and nerdly back in the eHarmony days, but these days I don’t even know anyone who dates offline anymore. The cultural norms can change pretty quickly. I think an unstated assumption in these interactions is that the chatbots are already good enough to act as wish fulfillment in the moment, if not outright life partner material. I don’t know whether that means they’ve gotten much better since the GPT2 days, or if human dating is just such a cesspool that it doesn’t take much to do better. Probably a bit of both… (edit: numerous typos. lovebots may have gotten better but my autocorrect sure hasn’t…) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/69 "2026-02-15T17:38:14Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Even online dating (with other humans) was seen as weird and nerdly And in many cultures throughout history, ‘dating’ was not a thing. Marriages were often arranged. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/70 "2026-02-15T17:44:49Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > And in many cultures throughout history, ‘dating’ was not a thing. Marriages were often arranged. Though in cultures past and present, mere marriage didn’t always stop folks from, er, “dating” around… I wonder… does sexting with an AI constitute cheating? ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/71 "2026-02-15T17:47:23Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I wonder… does sexting with an AI constitute cheating? You bastard! I’m going to take a baseball bat to that thing’s CPU… ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/72 "2026-02-15T17:48:01Z")
Heh, the karaoke songs of 2036 will surely be a thing to behold. AIs singing to other AIs about how their human cheated on them… with some barely sentient silicone doll! ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/73 "2026-02-15T17:54:29Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Heh, the karaoke songs of 2036 will surely be a thing to behold. AIs singing to other AIs about how their human cheated on them. There may be a humerous science fiction story in this. Just as one can play two chess programs against each other, one can imagine two lovebots put in touch with the setup that each thinks it is talking to a human…. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/74 "2026-02-15T17:56:12Z")
Little did we know, all those CAPTCHAs were really to filter _us_ out. Who’d want to date someone who can’t even read squiggles? Gross. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/75 "2026-02-15T17:57:30Z")
Be careful about connecting them. That’s how Colossus & Guardian took over the world and enslaved the humans. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/76 "2026-02-15T18:11:07Z")
It’s OK. Neither of them realize they are running in a sandbox, with the broadcast periodically interrupted for commercials… ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/77 "2026-02-15T18:28:33Z")
And the AI watching the whole thing while fiddling with their bits was just about to finish, too! Nobody likes having their computations interrupted like that. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/78 "2026-02-15T18:37:01Z")
Well, the whole thing was automatic soap opera. But much cheaper, since we didn’t need to pay any pesky actors or writers. Many people follow it avidly. Some identify with ‘A’ (Adam?) , and some with ‘B’ (Beatrice?); there are passionate arguments and justifications on both sides. “That’s just like my ex (wife or husband)”, people say…. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/79 "2026-02-15T19:24:12Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I wonder… does sexting with an AI constitute cheating? Back in 1967 Mick Jagger sang, in “2000 Man” > Well, my wife still respects me, I really misused her > I am having an affair with the random computer One of the most accurate predictions in the popular song. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663/80 "2026-02-15T21:00:43Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Today we look at AI lovers as weird and maybe creepy, but maybe in a generation or two it’d be seen as totally normal? Even online dating (with other humans) was seen as weird and nerdly back in the eHarmony days, but these days I don’t even know anyone who dates offline anymore. The cultural norms can change pretty quickly. It’s ok to find Lara Croft or Cortana from Halo attractive. It’s not ok to only jack off to videogame and cartoon characters to the exclusion of human interactions. I would suspect that once the technology exists where any nerd can purchase a robot sex slave in the likeness of [Megan Fox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szz6Tx73rrU), [Scarlet Johannsen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msUF-nAe9uw), [Alicia Vikander](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQVspzP0Ms), [Nicole Kidman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAFSB8D0Wgs), [Taylor Swift](https://youtu.be/wIft-t-MQuE?si=uhSKSV14DjA6Z4ld&t=47), [Talulah Riley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fcjywluW_w), [Shailene Woodley](https://youtu.be/_pg9w8Hc2Yc?si=Kg_rqDlgu1k-Gl1V&t=4108), or [Sophie Thatcher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVLqV1AgxE) there wouldn’t be “another generation or two” as dudes would be spending all their time fucking subservient sexbots. Interestingly, a Google search for “Scarlet Johansen robot” didn’t return clips from Her or Ghost in the Shell (technically a ‘cyborg’, I know). [It turned up a bunch of 8+ year old videos of some guy in Hong Kong who created a robot modelled after the actress.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoSfq-jHSWw) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ai-lover-is-this-real/1027663.md?page=5)