More People Are Using AI Partners, Are They Safe?

People are now getting emotionally attached to their AI partners.

According to the Associated Press, AI partners have recently become increasingly popular, with more and more users choosing to “date” a digital partner. Derek Carrier, a user of the App Parador, said that the AI companions would make users feel “cared, understood and loved.”

These AI companions are similar to chatbots, but they are specifically trained to mimic human relationships, some come with features such as voice calls or picture exchanges to enhance the experience. Users can also create an avatar for their AI or choose one they like.

Many users have said that the AI chatbots have helped them cope with loneliness, act out sexual fantasies, or get the kind of support they feel is lacking in their real-life relationships. Others have said they’ve developed emotional attachments to these bots.

Some experts have expressed concern that these bots create unrealistic expectations of what a real relationship should be.

“You, as the individual, aren’t learning to deal with basic things that humans need to learn to deal with since our inception: How to deal with conflict, how to get along with people that are different from us,” said Dorothy Leidner, professor of business ethics at the University of Virginia. “And so, all these aspects of what it means to grow as a person, and what it means to learn in a relationship, you’re missing.”

Others have raised concerns about the ethics of AI companies themselves. Some have questioned whether it’s ethical to profit off of people by making chatbots attractive to them.

A recent investigation by Mozilla found that many of these apps fail privacy checks and how they protect user information.

So far, about eleven AI companion apps have been downloaded more than 100 times on Android devices.