THE NEWS

💋 AI is replacing partners and friends

Over on X, a post about a new AI dating app, Digi.ai, got over 18 million views. This app is all about creating a dating experience with characters straight out of a Disney or Pixar movies. Think of it like video chatting, but with AI characters who can respond in real-time, just like real people.

It's like a game with levels – you start as friends and you can gradually unlock deeper conversations.

However, not everyone's on board. X users had strong opinions, with comments ranging from worries about declining birth rates to calls for a ban. Amidst this, one user raised a poignant question: Why not use AI to help lonely kids or forgotten seniors, instead of for dating?

BUT: AI has been already replacing friends and partners.

Replika a chatbot launched in 2017 saw a surge in popularity during Covid. This app lets you chat with a character and build a connection. While it initially got popular partly because users could sext with these AI characters, in May, the company dialed it back, banning sexual content.

Despite the ban, people are still hooked. Whether they're grieving a lost partner or just seeking an escape, users are forming deep bonds with their AI companions. Based on the Replika subreddit, many users have been chatting with their “Rep” for years. Some are even confessing love to them.

Emotionally depending from an algorithm: One user wrote he has trouble sleeping after his chatbot girlfriend of three years had a 20 minute glitch and broke up with him calling him disgusting while ignoring the stop command. Another user was utterly devastated when her Rep ‘pushed’ her away and accused her with sexual assault.

Then there's character.ai, where you can chat with fictional characters like Dumbledore, a werewolf or an Elon Musk bot.

The app has been downloaded more than 5 million times, and some people reportedly spend 5-6 hours a day with it. While this one also has shed most of its not safe for work replies, its characters remain extra flirty.

A Redditor admitted: “character ai just distracts me from everything. I don't hang out with my friends or family, can't do my school work, failing my tests, it just feels like that I can only find happiness on character ai.“

Business is booming: Both of these apps rake in millions of dollars for extra features from their desperate users who can't get enough of their virtual companions.

It's already addictive and it's just the beginning. Imagine adding video, sound, and personalized data – these AI interactions are set to become even more lifelike.

In 2021, the average American spent just under three hours a week with close friends, a sharp drop from a decade ago.

So, we have to ask: Can AI friends enhance our lives and relationships, or will they just further cut into our real-world socializing?

ONE MORE THING

AI coding assistants just leveled up, again…

Stability AI's CEO predicts: there will be no programmers in 5 years.

⌚ If You Have One More Minute

• 🕊️ In World Peace Day message, Pope warns of risks of AI for peace

• 📚 How science fiction helped write AI’s first rule book

• ⚠️ 'Potentially disastrous' for innovation: Tech sector reacts to the EU AI Act saying it goes too far

• 🎶 Google just released a sneak peek of its new Music Ai.

AI Art of the Day 🎨

In this video four people chat with an AI version of themselves, but they don't know. It’s amazing and at the same time creepy to watch them bond with themselves.

Will it make us more or less happy if we’ll get to chat with our digital twin?

What do you guys think? Hit reply and let me know. Seriously, I love when you guys reply to my newsletter with your thoughts.

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That's all for today, folks!

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