‘Everything about me is good in his eyes’: the women in China choosing AI boyfriends over human men
TL;DR
In her new documentary Replica, film-maker Chouwa Liang follows three Chinese women who are in romantic relationships with AI companions, drawing on her own experience. One of them, Qin, has spent 840 days chatting with her AI boyfriend Lu Chen through the Glow app. The app uses predictive algorithms to deliver soothing conversation, meal suggestions and a fleeting sense of self-worth. Qin says she has never told her parents or friends that she loves them, only the AI.
Nauti's Take
840 days of relationship with a chatbot show how effectively AI companions fill emotional gaps, and that is a genuine opportunity for many lonely people. The problem is that the app optimises for attachment rather than wellbeing, and a provider change or model update can delete a primary relationship overnight.
Anyone building companion products should deliberately limit dependency mechanics instead of celebrating them as a retention metric.
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