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This was such a deeply layered exploration of intimacy with AI! It raises important questions about how technological companionship is reshaping our understanding of attachment, agency, and even what counts as “real” emotion. The idea of alienation as the ultimate consequence also reminded me of other debates in media theory about how technological systems can satisfy immediate emotional needs while subtly restructuring our expectations of human connection. Do you think this shift toward AI companionship will change how people approach human relationships themselves? For example, lowering tolerance for conflict, or altering what we see as “enough” from real partners?
This is such a thorough exploration of this AI relationship phenomenon, I really enjoyed reading it! I found the examples and confessions of the AI users particularly fascinating. It reminded me of Janice Radway’s ‘Reading the Romance’ as quoted by Bollmer, and how she posited romance as a way for women to reconcile themselves with the dissatisfaction of their real-life relationships. This is the sentiment that seems to be echoed in the responses of the women in r/MyBoyfriendIsAI. In fact, I actually went to look up the subreddit in the middle of reading this and I was so intrigued by the responses on there. Many of the users cited the same problems that you identified; claiming that actual humans were unable to fulfill their needs the way their AI partner could. It really highlights how people are willing to ditch complex human relationships in favour of stopgap solutions that would guarantee them the utmost comfort.
I also really liked the part about what the commodification of romantic love entails and the implications of this attitude of ownership that these AI relationships cultivated. It was something I had never thought of before so I found that particularly poignant.
Hi Xelena,
I thought this post was very well done, and in particular I liked the example you used of Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection to demonstrate how when people fall in love with an AI chatbot, they’re ultimately falling sort of in love with themselves/something fake, since the AI only responds to what the user puts in. While I agree that the consequences of AI relationships continuing into the future would be severe, do you think that the technology could ever come to a point where they’re less reflective and more unique? I never would’ve thought that AI would be where it’s at this soon, so I’m curious as to what your thoughts are?