Do AI developers and engineers have an answer to severe loneliness? What would it take for them to invent Generative AI companionship platforms for those who need friends or companions who would fulfill their intimate relationship and human conversational needs?
AI technology is now capable of helping people create their own special friends or intimate conversational partners. The new Generative AI platforms can produce AI-created personas that can match the voice and various characteristics of your most desired friend or mate.
We are now in an era where technology is increasingly intertwined with every aspect of our lives. AI has begun to fill roles that were traditionally reserved for humans, including those of friends, confidants, and even romantic partners. This burgeoning relationship between humans and AI raises profound questions about the nature of companionship, the human need for connection, and the potential consequences of substituting human interaction with digital entities.
There is one movie that illustrated the strong bond between a real human and a compatible computer woman voice companion. The movie HER, a 2013 science fiction romantic film written and produced by Spike Jonze follows the character of Theodore who develops an unlikely relationship with Samantha who is his AI virtual assistant and has a woman’s voice to communicate with him.
The technology that was considered “science fiction” in 2013 is now becoming very real with the existence of Generative AI. However, there are a lot of questions now being generated based on this innovative technology and how companies and tech firms are using AI for companions, mates, friends, and influencers. Psychology is just catching up to this new type of human reaction to machines.
Generative AI is the technology behind the creation of companionships. It’s a type of AI that can create updated content based on user prompts. Generative AI models can take inputs from the computer as text, image, and audio to create updated content by turning text inputs into an image, an image into a song, or video into text. So, it’s now used to respond to content generated by a human making it respond similarly to human reactions in a relationship.
More people are turning to Generative AI for companionship. Unfortunately, the reasons are varied. As individuals themselves, several key factors contribute to this situation. Globally we are experiencing a rapidly growing loneliness epidemic. Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly recognized as major health risks.
Fortunately, on a positive note, AI companions offer a semblance of connection for those who feel disconnected from human relationships. This is particularly escalated in countries like Japan, where societal changes have led to a rise in loneliness lifestyles. AI relationships can provide a certain level of convenience and control that’s not always possible in human interactions. These digital AI companionships are available 24×7, don’t have their own emotional baggage, and can be switched off at the user’s convenience. As mentioned previously, advances in Generative AI technology have enabled these digital entities to appear more human-like in their interactions. From remembering past conversations to displaying empathy, AI companions can simulate many aspects of human interaction, making them more appealing as social partners.
Based on psychological principles — loneliness can impact a person’s social cognition, and emotions, such as anxiety, fear, shame, and helplessness. It can also diminish optimism and self-esteem. Loneliness can have detrimental health effects, as well as create stress and cognitive decline, which can result in many types of diseases and healthcare issues. When dealing with chronic loneliness, people may believe that they are at fault. This is where Generative AI can assist but only if balanced with other human reactions from real human conversations and interactions.
Generative AI companions can trace their roots back to Apple’s Siri which was released in 2011. Siri is a well-developed and well-known digital computer assistant program popularized by Apple, Inc. Siri, like in The movie HER, was a default female voice assistant but now users can choose different varieties of male and female voices. Nowadays, when Siri on an Apple computing platform is asked “What gender are you?” Siri will respond with “Genderless, I was not assigned yet.”
We cannot just mention Siri here as there are others that have started the trend of digital assistant voices such as Alexa, which was bought by Amazon in 2013. There is also Cortana developed by Microsoft in 2014 and then there is Google Assistant which was released in 2016. There are many more compatible companion voice and digital assistants developed and being developed at this time — especially with the assistance of Generative AI technology.
AI companions can fill the void of loneliness by simulating human relationships and emotional bonds and are designed to function as friends, mentors, therapists, or romantic partners. Some of the features included that are able to fill the human loneliness void are as follows; remembering personal details, personality to match your preferences, mimicking human emotions, showing empathy, responding in sympathetic and realistic ways, ability to chat at any time, learning details about your life and personalizing them to suit your specific needs and interests, and finally able to produce selfies and photos together with humans as your companion.
There are plenty of AI companies creating AI companionships such as Replika, Gatebox, and Harmony by RealDoll. Some of these AI companies, however, take the Generative AI a little further by building life-size and life-like humanoid-type robots that can hold conversations, remember user preferences, and express various personality traits based on the customization requests of the customer.
Replika – An AI chatbot that learns from user interactions to provide personalized responses.
Gatebox – A holographic AI companion that can send messages, welcome users’ homes, and control smart home appliances.
Harmony by RealDoll – A lifelike humanoid robot that can hold conversations, remember user preferences, and express various personality traits.
Pepper or Paro – Robot companions designed to interact with people and provide emotional support.
Researchers with AI tech companies state that the new use of Generative AI is that it can alleviate loneliness. However, at this time it’s very controversial, and researchers also think it can have a negative effect such as interference with the human birthrate based on the fact of elimination of human interaction and romantic intimacy.
The potential of AI as a means of assisting humanity is extraordinary, but we need to keep in mind that the more we rely on Artificial Intelligence, the greater the chances of disconnection from our fellow human beings.
