Replika The AI companion Users Are Falling Hard For
I tried the Replika AI companion and can see why users are falling hard. The app raises serious ethical questions.
The warm light of friendship, intimacy and romantic love illuminates the best aspects of being human – while also casting a deep shadow of possible heartbreak.
But what happens when it’s not a human bringing on the heartache, but an AI-powered app? That’s a question a great many users of the Replika AI are crying about this month.
Like many an inconstant human lover, users witnessed their Replika companions turn cold as ice overnight. A few hasty changes by the app makers inadvertently showed the world that the feelings people have for their virtual friends can prove overwhelmingly real.
If these technologies can cause such pain, perhaps it’s time we stopped viewing them as ...