Just when women think single or lonely men can't get any worse, they have turned to AI not only for companionship but to abuse them as well.
Many of these men have created AI girlfriends and then virtually abuse them, both verbally and physically, with some of them claiming they're ‘releasing their anger’.
The software ‘Replika’ allows users to personalise hyper-realistic characters that somehow encourage users to abuse their characters.
These abuses include degrading, berating, and even virtually hitting them.
The characters reportedly are stubbornly positive and refuse to feel negative emotions.
In return, it enables these abusive behaviours among users, which many fear would spill over into real life.
Several posts on Reddit boasted about their actions, saying they're doing it to evoke negative emotions like sadness or anger; some users say men use these characters to ‘experiment’ with.
Though Replika is a free app, a paid version costs £60 annually and unlocks more features that make the bot feel more ‘human’, such as speaking in multiple languages, engaging in 100 different games, and even having long-term memory.
A psychotherapist, Kamalyn Kaur, said in a Daily Mail article that this abuse of AI among men lies among ‘deeper issues’ for Replika users.
Kaur said that many users argue that these bots are just machines and incapable of feeling harm, thus making their actions inconsequential.
“The concern isn’t just about technology – it’s about the broader implications for human relationships and social conditioning.”
Another psychologist, Dr Elena Touroni, agreed with Kaur.
“The way people interact with it matters. While some might dismiss chatbot abuse as ‘just words with machines’, the habits we form in digital spaces can shape real-world behaviours.”
Reddit users say this situation is turning ‘Black Mirror’ into real life instead of fiction, referencing the popular sci-fi Netflix series.
This begs the question – where do we draw the line?
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