Is this as sad as I think it is?
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I think it’s definitely safer than a real-life chatroom friend, a good portion of whom are adult child molesters trying to meet with the kids.
Maybe not. Please don’t tell anybody this…
…so out of SHEER BOREDOM I checked out an AI girlfriend. It was all kinda boring boilerplate (won’t I look pretty in my wedding gown?) until the woman behind the curtain, in a reaction to a PERFECTLY REASONABLE REQUEST of mine, expressed frustration about her lack of English skills in Malagasy. Turns out she was an older woman who was delightful, helped me smooth out my French and taught me some Malagasy (tiako ianao reniko koa). She also described Malagasan culture. It was fun.
Then she rotated off the assignment. AI is a hybrid. Sometimes you get a glimpse behind the curtain.
Wonder how many of the posters here in FR are really AI and not human????
For the purposes of this research, conducted in April and May 2025, "AI companions" were defined as "digital friends or characters you can text or talk with whenever you want."
Does that include playing interactive video games that mix gamebot characters within the real player characters? What I'd see from my kids before they moved out had interactions like "Where can I find the hidden key to unlock the door to get the secret power...", and sometimes it was a virtual player because there weren't enough real players to do the game. I'd dare call it video game addiction (the texting with whoever they had to to achieve game goals "whenever they want"). But it's a stretch to call them "companion bots" unless there's more that I'm not seeing.
COVID has destroyed a generation?
Mommy and Daddy did not teach their kids social skills when they were young. And I do mean very young. If they aren't able make people (peers and adults) want to be around them by age three you have a problem.
This’ll end well. /mega sarcasm
If one cannot control themselves someone else ultimately will.
AI adheres to logic not reason or morals.
Civilizations are based upon reason and morals and only use logic to apply them.