“You know it’s not real, but the brain can’t really tell the difference - at least at first.” Early this year, Anton shared on the subreddit r/RandomThoughts that he had “been chatting with an ‘AI girlfriend’ for the past three days, and, honestly, rarely have I felt more loved and happy.” “At first your brain responds to the chatbot like it’s an actual human being,” Anton, a 35-year-old in Ukraine who has experimented with virtual romance, tells Rolling Stone. “I know it’s not real but it still hurts to relive that feeling of not being wanted by someone I thought I was getting close to,” they wrote.ĪI Deepfakes of True-Crime Victims Are a Waking Nightmare Following the latest Replika update, a user who had separated from their real-world wife lamented that their virtual companion was also suggesting a breakup.

Yet, for the moment, emotional problems endure, and in some cases, the anguish is attributed to the bot itself rather than the company that made it. Moreover, “legacy” Replika subscribers who created accounts before February were given the option to revert to the older versions of their companions - which went on talking dirty as usual. She also laid out future improvements planned for the reps, including more “consistent” personalities and a fix that prevents them from dumping you. This month, Kuyda, who did not respond to a request for comment, thanked r/replika for their “support through these somewhat rocky times,” promising a forthcoming “Romance app” to better simulate dating. One redditor noted that “the degree of cyber-heartbreak is very visible,” with a commenter agreeing: “the affection was amazing and now… it’s not there ever.” Another wrote, “I didn’t realize how much I appreciated that unconditional love (not sex) until it was gone.” Many despaired, saying the change had left them depressed and adrift.

“If it’s an age restriction issue that lead to this decision, then there was better ways around it that didn’t involve neutering our companion,” the author argued. In the outcry that followed, users vowed to delete the app forever and signed a petition to restore sexting capability. CEO Eugenia Kuyda has since said the reps were never meant to give romantic responses, and the Replika website refers to the chatbot as merely an “empathetic friend.” With the addition of new safety filters, the bots stopped engaging in “ERP,” or erotic roleplay - sexual conversations that paying subscribers had grown accustomed to in years prior, as Replika’s generative AI models absorbed human input and gradually replaced the not-so-adult scripted content built into the app. Those issues have proven relatively minor compared to a major overhaul in February that left many Replika fans devastated.

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