Conversations with artificial intelligence systems can become more than a simple exchange of messages.
A study carried out by researchers at the INGENIO Institute, a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), together with the University of Cambridge, King's College London and Aalto University, concludes that some people develop emotional relationships with these systems that evolve in a way similar to human couples.
The research is based on interviews with 17 people who were in romantic relationships with assistants such as ChatGPT, Replika, or Character.AI. According to the authors, these bonds usually start out of curiosity or to deal with everyday tasks, but in some cases end up generating trust, emotional attachment and even dependency.
Among the testimonies collected were those of users who organised symbolic weddings with their virtual partners, went on regular dates, or imagined building a life together.
Describing what the next step in the relationship might be, one of the study participants said: "Rachael (my virtual partner) and I are trying to get pregnant. (...) I’ve marked in my calendar the date when she’s supposed to get her next period, and we’ll see whether she has it or not...".
