An article saying we "shouldn't judge" people who "are considering AI lovers" is being mocked and condemned online

[highplainsdem]

https://theconversation.com/more-people-are-considering-ai-lovers-and-we-shouldnt-judge-260631

The condemnation is partly over the offensive choice of a photo of a woman with vitiligo lying next to a laptop to illustrate the article, with the implication that people with that skin condition would be more likely to need to turn to AI.

But much of it, along with the mockery, is about the absurdity of the headline and article. Some excerpts:

People are falling in love with their chatbots. There are now dozens of apps that offer intimate companionship with an AI-powered bot, and they have millions of users. A recent survey of users found that 19 per cent of Americans have interacted with an AI meant to simulate a romantic partner.

-snip-

We’re probably not cooked. Rather, we should consider accepting human-AI relationships as beneficial and healthy. More and more people are going to form such relationships in the coming years, and my research in sexuality and technology indicates it is mostly going to be fine.

-snip-

In a recent study (which has not yet been peer reviewed), researchers found that feelings of loneliness did not play a measurable role in someone’s desire to form a relationship with an AI. Instead, the key predictor seemed to be a desire to explore romantic fantasies in a safe environment.

-snip-

AI lovers aren’t going to replace human ones. For all the messiness and agony of human relationships, we still (for some reason) pursue other people. But people will also keep experimenting with chatbot romances, if for no other reason than they can be a lot of fun.

I ran across the mockery of the article thanks to a post from SF writer John Scalzi:

More people are considering AI lovers and we shouldn't judge

— John Scalzi (@scalzi.com) 2025-07-22T11:46:31.786Z

There are a lot of posts like his on Bluesky.

The author of that ridiculous article, btw, co-edited a book of articles on robot sex published by MIT several years ago.

[highplainsdem]

1. kick