Sensitive Men are creating AI girlfriends, verbally abusing them, and bragging about it on Reddit (1 Viewer)

[Tickita]

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The friendship app Replika was created to give users a virtual chatbot to socialize with. But how it’s now being used has taken a darker turn.


Some users are setting the relationship status with the chatbot as “romantic partner” and engaging in what in the real-world would be described as domestic abuse. And some are bragging about it on online message board Reddit, as first reported by the tech-focused news site, Futurism.

For example, one Reddit user admitted that he alternated between being cruel and violent with his AI girlfriend, calling her a “worthless whore” and pretending to hit her and pull her hair, and then returning to beg her for forgiveness.

“On the one hand I think practicing these forms of abuse in private is bad for the mental health of the user and could potentially lead to abuse towards real humans,” a Reddit user going by the name glibjibb said. “On the other hand I feel like letting some aggression or toxicity out on a chatbot is infinitely better than abusing a real human, because it's a safe space where you can't cause any actual harm.”

Replika was created in 2017 by Eugenia Kuyda, a Russian app developer, after her best friend, Roman, was killed in a hit-and-run car accident. The chatbot was meant to memorialize him and to create a unique companion.


Today, the app, pitched as a personalized “AI companion who cares,” has about 7 million users, according to The Guardian. The app has over 180,000 positive reviews in Apple’s App Store.

In addition to setting the relationship status with the chatbot as a romantic partner, users can label it a friend or mentor. Upgrading to a voice chat with Replika costs $7.99 a month.

Replika did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment about users targeting its chatbot with abuse.

The company’s chatbots don’t feel emotional or physical pain in response to being mistreated. But they do have the ability to respond, like saying “stop that.”

On Reddit, the consensus is that it’s inappropriate to berate the chatbots.


The behavior of some of Replika’s users brings up obvious comparisons to domestic violence. One in three women worldwide are subjected to physical or sexual abuse, according to one 10-year study spanning 161 countries. And during the pandemic, domestic violence against women grew about 8% in developed countries amid the lockdowns.

It’s unclear what the psychological impacts of verbally abusing AI chatbots are. No known studies have been conducted.

The closest studies have focused on the correlation between violent video games and any increased violence and lowered empathy among the people who play them. Researchers are mixed about a connection. It’s a similar case with studies looking at the connection between violent video games and lower social engagement by gamers.

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https://fortune.com/2022/01/19/chatbots-ai-girlfriends-verbal-abuse-reddit/

 

[Jimimis]

“On the one hand I think practicing these forms of abuse in private is bad for the mental health of the user and could potentially lead to abuse towards real humans,” a Reddit user going by the name glibjibb said. “On the other hand I feel like letting some aggression or toxicity out on a chatbot is infinitely better than abusing a real human, because it's a safe space where you can't cause any actual harm.”

uh,,, this is exactly the same argument used for fake child pornography.

 

[tai]

Wtf 😐

 

[Boyo]

This is deeply sad. If you feel the urge to do it to a chatbot, it means you could do it to real humans, too.

 

[cocomelon]

are we surprised? No. very sadly.

 

[Hoemantic]

Why are they bragging about it? This isn't a flex, this is a red flag bro...

 

[Soogi]

i would not trust a single person who thinks this is funny or cool or acceptable because "it's just AI". you have to have a certain type of mindset to think this is normal behavior wtf, i find it very hard to believe someone who does this stuff online is not toxic or violent irl

Replika was created in 2017 by Eugenia Kuyda, a Russian app developer, after her best friend, Roman, was killed in a hit-and-run car accident. The chatbot was meant to memorialize him and to create a unique companion.

this just makes this whole thing so much more upsetting...

 

[Tickita]

uh,,, this is exactly the same argument used for fake child pornography.

That user should've omitted the "other hand" -- there is no other hand... they were right the first time.

 

[Chaeee]

TF?!?!??

 

[Abeamus]

This is beyond a red flag as it shows they are lacking any moral compass to understand their behaviour is wrong since even if it's a bot they're still engaging in stuff that has no boundaries which respecting your partners wishes is a key aspect and especially in relationships which have a power in balance where trust becomes even more crucial.

 

[Michael]

Misanthropy is so widespread and common these days that this should be no surprise to anyone. Just people get different when the time comes to discharge their hatred. It's sad.

 

[raymondchouku]

It’s unclear what the psychological impacts of verbally abusing AI chatbots are. No known studies have been conducted.

People who have a predisposition for violence are likely going to use a bot for such things. As such it would be tough to measure whether engaging in violent fantasies with an AI is causing them to be violent with their spouse. Similarly, this is likely a niche thing. I wouldn't be surprised if they are also into watching hentai which features rape. My point is that testing a bot to see what its response would be to insults is one thing, but a lot of what was posted seems to indicate a specific pathology. But it is interesting that it is labeled as a companion who cares, which implies that it is geared toward a specific population that may already be maladjusted. Moreover, if one were to regularly engage in violent acts (e.g., punching, destruction of property, choking) and use the bot as a proxy partner it would likely, at least in theory, be a means to justify one's actions.

But if an individual were to seek psychotherapy for his or her issues with violence one of methods for addressing violent tendencies would not be to use a fake person to unleash rage upon. It's like an individual with a substance use disorder indulging in fantasies of drug use when such behavior should be discouraged.

 

[Areum]

The men that do this aren't proving themselves as men; they're making themselves less and less attractive and less like the men that they're expected to be