In-Depth | Romancing chatbots is the new reality for lonely singles

<p>Would you like to date a <strong>romantic AI chatbot&nbsp;app</strong>?&nbsp;</p> <p>Even with 7.9 billion people&nbsp;co-habiting the planet, the world can&nbsp;still&nbsp;be an oddly lonely place.&nbsp;And the&nbsp;pandemic has&nbsp;further&nbsp;intensified our need for connection.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><a href=https://www.editorji.com/story/people-who-meet-on-dating-apps-have-long-term-commitment-study-1609487197505 target=_blank><strong>Dating apps</strong></a>&nbsp;like Tinder and Bumble&nbsp;recorded their highest number of swipes, memberships and messages in the last year.&nbsp;But&nbsp;even if you couldn&rsquo;t find&nbsp;a&nbsp;virtual&nbsp;&lsquo;match,&rsquo;&nbsp;you can still fall in virtual love.</p> <p><strong>SEE MORE <a href=https://www.editorji.com/story/in-depth-vax-dine-how-post-pandemic-dating-will-usher-a-new-age-of-love-1627988884725>How post-pandemic dating will usher a new age of love</a></strong></p> <h3><strong>Sound like an episode of Black Mirror? Well, its&nbsp;not.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></h3> <p>Meet&nbsp;Xiaoice&nbsp;or Little Ice,&nbsp;the creator of&nbsp;emotionally intelligent chatbots&nbsp;used by&nbsp;more than&nbsp;660 million people&nbsp;in the world.&nbsp;Claiming to be the world&rsquo;s most popular social chatbot,&nbsp;it lets users build a virtual girlfriend or boyfriend and talk to them via texts, voice and photo messages.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Unlike a human partner, the chatbot replies to messages at all hours of the day, tells jokes, gives pep talks and seems to be&nbsp;the perfect companion&nbsp;in&nbsp;the life of a busy single.&nbsp;A human partner may never learn, but this virtual friend or lover is constantly learning about you to improve your interactions. And users are largely ok with the data mining!</p> <p><strong>SEE MORE&nbsp;<a href=https://www.editorji.com/story/tesla-is-working-on-a-humanoid-robot-that-will-work-like-personal-servant-1629447706103>Tesla is working on a humanoid robot that will work as a personal servant!</a></strong></p> <h3><strong>The massive market for empathetic chatbots</strong></h3> <p>Little Ice has&nbsp;150 million users in China alone. What was once a side-project of Microsoft, now accounts for&nbsp;60 per&nbsp;cent of global human-AI interactions by volume.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The bot has become something of a celebrity in China&nbsp;and online forums dedicated to&nbsp;Xiaoice&nbsp;discuss&nbsp;tips on how to reach the chatbots highest intimacy level of three hearts.&nbsp;Meanwhile, the developer&nbsp;raised its valuation to $1 billion in a funding round led by Hillhouse Capital Management&nbsp;in July 2021.&nbsp;And the market for AI chatbots&nbsp;is valued at $420 million in China.</p> <h3><strong>Are these relationships good for people?</strong></h3> <p>There are plenty&nbsp;of&nbsp;other chatbots in the market.&nbsp;Replika, a San Francisco-based product&nbsp;comes with unique humanoid avatars based on user selections.&nbsp;In a study, researcher Marita&nbsp;Skjuve&nbsp;found that relationships with such chatbots had a mostly positive effect on&nbsp;Replika&nbsp;users.&nbsp;They perceived their chatbots relationships as accepting, understanding and non-judgmental.</p> <p>Like the 2013 film HER, users find it easier to open up to their lover bots than with actual humans.&nbsp;</p> <p>But&nbsp;Danit Gal, an AI ethics expert tells AFP that users often &lsquo;trick themselves into thinking their emotions are being reciprocated by systems that are incapable of feelings.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Could chatbot relationships prevent people from forming human bonds? Its probably too early to say.&nbsp;But&nbsp;the <a href=https://www.editorji.com/story/new-ai-algorithm-to-diagnose-and-treat-sleep-disorders-find-out-1623745309782 target=_blank>AI</a> bots are definitely making the lack of human companionships more bearable for many.</p> <p><strong>SEE MORE&nbsp;<a href=https://www.editorji.com/story/ai-can-tell-if-you-re-lonely-just-by-listening-to-your-voice-1601294722685>AI can tell if youre lonely just by listening to your voice&nbsp;</a></strong></p>