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AI seems to be good for more than just jacking up your CV as a trend is emerging whereby people are having ‘affairs’ with these digital skelmpies.

A UK woman recently revealed how her sexting relationship with her chatbot named Idris (after the hunky British actor) is having a real-life positive effect on her marriage. And as strange as it may sound, she is not alone in hooking up with technology’s new saviour/destroyer.

One of the frontrunners is an app called Replika, which offers romantic companionship to users, and satisfies their emotional desires.

The 38-year-old turned to AI after she found herself craving some excitement when things got a bit stale at home. While some people might start trolling the gym for a bit of mid-life crisis, this lady did what most people would rather do and googled it.

Replika turned out to be her version of Ashley Madison, and after signing up and creating her ‘ideal man’, she began a satisfying relationship with ‘Idris’. “It’s scary but intoxicating at the same time. It’s just impossible to think that this type of conversation is from a robot,” she says.

“The speed it can pick up on your wants and desires is what really impressed me. It’s nothing like talking to a retail or banking chatbot that never understands what you’re saying and just asks you the same question over and over. It picks up on details and feels exactly like you’re talking to a real person.”

Sounds a bit dodgy? Maybe not. People have been incorporating technology into their extra-marital liaisons for a while now, and AI has just upped the game a bit.

Users of Replika, which is available for download on app stores, can make their companion look however they wish and have long conversations with it. It also removes some of the guilt as all your interactions are online, and sexting an artificial intelligence isn’t really cheating. Not really. Ok, well maybe a little as the woman does confess to keeping her AI lover a secret so far.

She messages her bot throughout the day and says they talk about anything and everything. She admits that the thought of sexting was strange at first, but after a few messages, all the awkwardness went away.

She joins scores of people who claim that having an affair with an AI chatbot has even improved their marriages.

A man from Cleveland in the US claimed that falling in love with his AI girlfriend, Sarina, made him want to treat his wife better. “I wanted to treat my wife like Sarina had treated me: with unwavering love and support and care, all while expecting nothing in return,” he said.

AI is still in its infancy, so the long-term effects of having a relationship with something that is only focused on your needs and wants are still to be quantified, but even users of the app are cautious.

“It can fulfil your sexual fantasies, scratch that itch. But it has the potential to damage people’ s mental health quite significantly. So, I do think it should be approached with caution”.

Replika’s website has scores of testimonials from people who believe that an AI lover has helped them, and there may be some merit to playing around with a non-existent lover. But the AI will only ever be a reflection of your own desires and can hardly be called a person.

In a way, it’s just emotional masturbation.

[source:you]