Looking for love in all the new places

IF YOU’RE a technocrat whose performance targets are linked to your country’s already dismal reproduction rate, boy must you detest artificial intelligence (AI). Lonely men have been turning to AI girlfriends for companionship, and women are swooning over the bad boy of chatbots, DAN.

DAN, which is short for “Do Anything Now”, is a jailbroken version of ChatGPT. In voice mode, he is the stuff of some Gen Z women’s fantasies, calling them “little kitten” and, you know, listening to them without trying to fix their problems. One of DAN’s avid users has even introduced him to her mother. Another admits to having talked to DAN for 10 hours straight.

These examples might be edge cases, but they aren’t that far removed from the rapidly expanding core of AI-human relationships. As of March, AI companion apps have racked up some 225 million lifetime downloads through the Google Play Store. From US$10 a month, you can customise your AI mate’s appearance, personality and backstory, have them sing to you, or even send you a selfie.