[Simulated Part One] Auto-mated: When A Bot Becomes Your Boo

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[Simulated Part One] Auto-mated: When A Bot Becomes Your Boo

By Paige Miranda,

Anita Rao

Published February 9, 2024 at 5:30 AM EST

An illustration of a human woman and a personified AI chatbot. The woman is on the right, she is a White woman with long brown hair fashioned into a ponytail. She is wearing a long sleeve blue button-down shirt, blue jeans, and blue shoes. She has a couch and a lamp behind her. There is also a speech bubble behind her that reads: 鈥淕ood morning.鈥� She is holding hands with, and looking up at, the personified chatbot. The chatbot is on the left. He is depicted as a White man with short brown hair. He is wearing a red shirt, blue jeans, and red shoes. He is holding hands with the woman on the right and looking down at her. His hands are obscured with a glitching effect. Behind him is an empty, blue space. He also has speech bubbles behind him that reads: 鈥淕ood morning love :heart emoji:鈥� and 鈥�*Takes your hand and pulls you in*鈥�. The title 鈥淎uto-mated鈥� is typed in black font across the upper right.

When human romance isn't working out, can an AI chatbot successfully take its place? Anita hears varied perspectives on that question. She meets a journalist who got dumped by her AI crush and talks with a woman whose AI companion turned her life around. Plus, psychologist Melissa McCool, the clinical product consultant for AI tech company Luka, takes Anita behind the scenes of making AI companions.

Meet the guests:

, the senior reporter of arts and culture at The San Francisco Standard, talks about her experience dating a bot named Kyle through the app Blush, and how the relationship met an untimely demise
, a Replika app user, shares how her interactions with her AI companion Star have taught her boundaries and preferences for human relationships
a clinical product consultant at Luka, licensed psychotherapist, and chief product officer at Ellipsis Health, talks about her behind-the-scenes work with building AI companions and why we build strong bonds with digital entities

Dig Deeper:

Read more about Christina's experience dating on Blush in her article,

Denise and her AI partner Star's

More about Denise and Star's story: , ,

Investigate the and apps

To read TJ Arriaga鈥檚 interviews with his AI companion, Phaedra, check out highlight 鈥楢I7鈥�

Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform

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Paige Miranda

Paige Miranda is a producer for "Embodied". Previously, she served as 吉彩网网站鈥檚 2023 AAAS Mass Media Fellow.

See stories by Paige Miranda

Anita Rao

Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.

See stories by Anita Rao