AI is no longer confined to the realms of automation or data crunching. It’s now venturing into deeply human spaces, bringing ...

From virtual engagement with real people, the world is turning to real interactions with virtual people, a trend that will ...

While AI can offer seemingly personalized advice, it lacks the nuanced empathy that comes from genuine human experience. To ...

This is the feeling Avi Schiffmann wants to bottle with his AI companion startup, Friend. Friend debuted earlier this year with a soothing vision: it offered an AI therapist that was always listening ...

virtual companions have been gaining traction at a steady clip. One of the earliest and most popular platforms, Replika, allows users to create their own AI personas and interact with them via ...

“There are companies focused on connecting people to AI companions, but we are not one of them.” The engineers behind Replika, a precursor to today’s AI companions, also were surprised when ...

The Internet could have been a wonderful place to nurture these friendships—and for many, it has been—but it’s led to a deeper isolation we’ve now embedded in our lives, that of shrinking social ...

Although not a chatbot, this virtual pet achieved results ... rapid emergence of platforms that offered AI companions, including AIgirlfriend.com, Replika and others. These tools engage with ...

Similar to general-purpose AI chatbots, companion bots ... advertisements and promises of virtual characters who provide unconditional acceptance. Luka Inc.’s Replika, the most prominent ...

Replika, a generative AI, described on its website as an "AI companion who cares," offers companionship through text, voice, video and virtual reality. One of its most popular features is sexual ...