Love networks: can AI partners supplant real-life relationships
Humanity is increasingly turning to the possibilities of artificial intelligence, and issues of personal life and emotional support are no exception. Users of various services can use technology to create ideal partners who adapt to their communication style and other needs. This may reduce the number of lonely people in the world, but for some, virtual love risks replacing real love, experts say. Why men are no longer interested in real conversationalists, what are the pros and cons of AI-partners and whether they are able to give the warmth of live communication - in the material "Izvestia".
Emotional and predictable
Single people are increasingly turning to the possibilities of artificial intelligence - now you can build a relationship with an ideal partner, setting him the necessary parameters in various GPT-chats and applications. Sites such as DreamGF allow users to set many parameters: body shape, face, ethnicity, hair color, height, and character traits.
Such technologies are especially popular in Asian countries, where the percentage of single people is consistently high. For example, Chinese women prefer to communicate with virtual partners using the AI platform Glow, developed by the Shanghai startup MiniMax. "Beloved" gradually adapts to the user's personality, memorizing what he says and adjusts his speech accordingly. Hundreds of characters - from pop stars to CEOs and knights - are available in Wantalk, another app developed by Chinese internet giant Baidu. If you want, you can customize your ideal man according to age, values, personality and hobbies.
Even a giant of the artificial intelligence world like US-based OpenAI released its version of ChatGPT last May, adding a flirtatious response feature to certain requests. The company added that it is exploring whether it can "responsibly provide the ability to create NSFW content" (the acronym Not Safe For Work, used to refer to 18+ material. - Izvestia).
- AI partners are virtual characters that can maintain a dialog, adapt to the user's preferences, and even mimic an emotional connection. They work on the basis of complex algorithms that analyze data, learn from user interactions and offer personalized responses," Dmitry Lukin, founder of the ecosystem for users and business of computer clubs LANGAME, tells Izvestia. - Such products are based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language interaction technologies.
The emergence of AI partners with the development of neurotools was a matter of time, according to Daria Leshchikova, product director at the deiting service Twinby. According to the expert, with the creation of applications such as Replika (chatbot application with generative AI. - "Izvestia"), people began to use neural networks not just as assistants, but as emotional support: they find in a virtual partner convenience, predictability and lack of risk of being rejected.
- It can chat with you like a regular chatbot or even look like a real character in virtual reality. This friend learns and adapts to you: it remembers what you've talked about, understands your communication style, and can even mimic your emotions. It uses sophisticated technology, but communicating with it is easy and natural. This is what modern AI partners look like now," says the interviewee of the publication.
Virtual interlocutors are able not only to maintain a dialog and adapt to the user's interests, but also to show a certain "emotionality", says Victoria Beresneva, director of the ANO "Sport and Methodological Center "Department of Cybersport", senior lecturer at the Department of Game Industry and Cybersport of Synergy University.
- Candy.ai, Dream GF, Kupid AI, unite.ai and others work on the basis of language models (e.g., GPT) trained on huge arrays of texts, which allows them to generate meaningful answers. More advanced versions can use user behavior analysis and machine learning to "learn" user preferences and adjust communication style," explains the expert.
Such mechanics, when a person can ask questions to the program and receive answers from it, appeared around 1960s with the help of computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum, says AI expert Mikhail Shakhmuradyan. At that time, she performed the function of a virtual interlocutor. At the same time, technologies based on artificial intelligence create exactly the illusion of communication, he emphasizes.
- Now, thanks to the development of large language models, virtual partners are gaining even more popularity due to the fact that the difference between communication with a live person and communication with AI is minimized. Sometimes some people can't even distinguish who they are communicating with," says the interviewee of the publication.
Web users are already expressing concern that the emergence of virtual girlfriends and boyfriends will become a tragedy for a whole generation of young people.
Time and money
The emergence of partners based on artificial intelligence is not the first human attempt to build a relationship with an artificially created lover. Computer games often contain multiple options for developing romantic interactions with different characters, and many gamers are making virtual marriages in-world in online multiplayer universes.
Nearly 10 years ago, Japan developed the Gatebox smart speaker, which acts as a voice assistant by creating a hologram of an anime character. The device went into mass production in 2018. Pixel Azuma Hikari connects to the "smart home" system and is able to control appliances (for example, turn on the washing machine or microwave on a schedule), remind about scheduled chores and important meetings, maintain a dialogue, imitating the behavior of a living person.
In addition, it was in the Land of the Rising Sun that a specific genre of video games - otome - was born, where the most important role is played by building a relationship with the chosen favorite. Over time, users from other countries also began to install various dating simulators. However, according to experts, AI-powered communication with "sweethearts" could have more global implications for society.
- AI companions differ from dating simulators and otome games primarily in the level of personalization and interactivity. In traditional games, scenarios and dialogs are pre-determined, and the user's choices are limited to options offered by developers. AI partners use machine learning to adapt to each user and create a unique communication experience," says Dmitry Lukin.
Virtual partners created by neural networks offer a completely different depth of interaction, agrees Anton Shustikov, manager of the educational project CakesCats.
- The longer a person communicates with AI, the better it understands him, remembers preferences, reacts to changes in mood. This gives a sense of genuine connection. And here the question is how not to forget that it is an imitation, or not to dissolve in the illusion of relationship, - warns the expert.
Initially, dating simulators and romantic games, which appeared in Japan in the 1980s, were aimed at a male audience, draws the attention of psychologist Julema Kuzheleva. The user controlled a character who would win the heroine's love. Ultimately, the gamer honed his courtship skills.
- Later, the Japanese realized that such games could be interesting for women as well. In such games, girls controlled a female character and interacted with men, which led to more elaborate plots and tasks. This helped develop communication skills, which is especially relevant in Japan, where many people are busy with work and do not have time for real dating," she explains.
At the same time, according to experts interviewed by Izvestia, men more often resort to the format of virtual relationships and online dating than women.
According to Twinby psychologists, men experience breakups more painfully, but at the same time they are afraid of losing their freedom and getting married, as a result of which they form an avoidant type of attachment.
- All of this combined leads us to analytics: according to SimilarWeb, the share of men in an app with AI partners is 72.01%," concludes the expert.
In addition to these reasons, experts also note that men prefer virtual relationships to real ones, as the latter require more time and financial investments, while the AI-lover fully meets his expectations and does not ask him for any efforts to adjust. But women more often use AI companions for emotional support rather than romantic relationships, especially if they lack trusting close contacts in the real world.
- In both cases, artificial intelligence becomes a kind of "psychological support" that complements the owner's shortcomings," summarizes Anton Shustikov.
Two ends
Experts interviewed by Izvestia assess the influence of AI partners in two ways. On the one hand, such services help those who experience social anxiety or difficulties in building relationships. But if people start completely replacing real communication with virtual communication, it may aggravate social isolation.
Anton Shustikov also notes the polarity of opinions about AI partners. According to him, technology allows to reduce the emotional and financial costs of building relationships.
- You can forget about reciprocity, set up an ideal interlocutor who will never get tired, will not criticize and will always support. On the other hand, this leads to a decrease in real social contacts, - says the specialist.
Also possible is the phenomenon that we see today in social networks - when the embellished life of other people comes into dissonance with the real picture that the user sees in front of him.
In some cases, AI partners can even have a positive impact, but on the condition that a person does not refuse to communicate with real people, says Daria Leshchikova. Among the advantages - the availability of emotional support, as a neural network buddy will not judge, will not expect something, pressurize, as sometimes happens in real relationships.
- The disadvantages are a decrease in motivation to communicate "in real life". Dependence is formed, and without direct physical contact. Also, some "emotions" may not be available if they are not paid for, - continues the product director of the deiting-application.
According to the general opinion of experts, dependence on communication with AI leads to the fact that a person spends more time on staying in the virtual world and less time on communication with live people. This is fraught with loneliness and other problems that arise on the background of such asociality.
Victoria Beresneva drew an analogy between correspondence with AI partners and game addiction. Both phenomena are related to dopamine reinforcement: when a person gets pleasant emotions from some action or situation, he or she tends to repeat this experience.
- Unlike games, the AI-partner is able to adjust to the personality of a person, which makes addiction even deeper, as the illusion of real attachment is created, - says the expert.
Psychologists are sure that to fully assess the impact of AI-partners on the moral state of a person can only by analyzing his psychotype. For example, introverts or shy people can thus improve communication skills.
My boyfriend is a cyborg
Now with most AI companions it is possible to support only a text conversation, but platforms are starting to use speech technologies more and more often. For example, in March 2023, OpenAI added features to ChatGPT that allow verbal communication with a chatbot - the user can select the voice of the neural network and set the tone.
Also, experts assume that neural networks will become more and more realistic in the coming years. Victoria Beresneva draws attention to the fact that today voice and visual models are already being developed, and in the future it will be possible to integrate them with various meta-universes and with robotic bodies.
However, according to the expert, AI partners will not be able to completely replace living people.
- Human relationships are based not only on dialogs, but also on physical contact, emotions, unpredictability and unique experiences. Although for some people virtual relationships may become the main way of communication, the majority will perceive them more as a supplement than as a substitute for real love and friendship," explains Victoria Beresneva.
Most likely, technology will complement real relationships, making available emotional support and temporary communication, especially in situations where a person in real life has difficulties with this, agrees Daria Leshchikova.
But psychologist Julema Kuzheleva points out that it is still impossible to answer with certainty whether virtual love will supplant traditional love.
- Futurologists predict that AI can indeed largely replace real communication. For example, there are already cases of men declaring their willingness to marry their AI partners.<...> This emphasizes how quickly such relationships are developing in some countries, such as Japan and Korea, and how this trend is beginning to reach us," the expert shares.
Daria Leshchikova advises that when looking for your man, you should not forget to devote time to your own hobbies, career, friends and other aspects of life that bring you joy.
- To make dating successful, based on the results of our users, I recommend adding photos that reflect your interests and life. Also, don't be shy about filling out information about yourself - it increases your chances of successful dating. And, of course, specify your search goals: it's easier to find people with similar expectations," she recommends.
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