AI Intimacy: The Dark Side of AI Companions

Today, more than 670 MILLION people have some form of interaction with Artificial Intelligence companions like Replika, XiaoIce, Mitsuku, and so on. That's 670 million people different from the users of ChatGPT, Bard, Midjourney, and others. In this podcast, we delve into the details of the challenges posed by our interactions with AI companions and the characteristics of the two most popular ones: Replika and XiaoIce. We explore how Artificial Intelligence redefines emotions and relationships. We examine the profound challenges, dangers, and opportunities that await us in the era of AI companions. Join me on this podcast journey where light and darkness intertwine in a complex dance of multi-layered stories of AI humanoids, from the futuristic "Blade Runner" to the world of "Her" (2013) and the reality of transhumanism in "The Creator" (2023).