This year is going to be the 70th anniversary of when the term “artificial intelligence” was coined. How time flies!
While AI has been shaping our world for decades, the average person has only recently started to have access to it.
Several major generative AI platforms reached the market back in 2022 and have been used by millions of people. One survey found that 40% of people had used AI as of last summer.
There are a lot of fascinating ways that AI is changing our lives. One of the most interesting is the proliferation of AI companions.
They are starting to have a big impact on our lives as society starts to become more isolated for a variety of reasons, including people spending more time online instead of connecting with friends in real life.
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What Are AI Companions?
An AI companion is an entity that is programmed to behave like an actual human being that we would interact with in our lives. Here are some of the common features of them:
● They can be customized to have certain physical and behavioral traits
● They can listen to feedback to change the way that they interact with their users
● They can use machine learning technology to better understand the preferences of their users and refine the way that they interact with them.
They are constantly evolving, as new technology helps them become more humanlike every day. One service called AI Girlfriend specializes in helping people develop AI companions for romantic relationships.
How Are AI Companions Changing Our World?
There are a lot of ways that AI companions are starting to change our world. Some of the biggest impacts are described in detail below.
AI Companions Can Behave Like Friends
Many people are struggling to make friends these days. This is especially common with younger adults. One survey found that 27% of Gen Zers do not have any close friends.
This is a great reason for people to use AI companions. They can use AI companions to have somebody to talk to.
This will help them feel less lonely over time, which can be important for their long-term mental health. They can also help people develop the social skills to better connect with others in real life.
AI Companions Can Be Substitutes for Romance with Other Humans
A growing number of people are using AI companions as GF and BF. Men are especially likely to use AI companions to form romantic relationships.
One survey found that nearly 30% of men under the age of 35 had used an AI companion at least once.
There are a lot of people that can benefit from using AI companions for romance. This includes people living in rural areas with few potential romantic partners, people with neurodivergences and people working irregular schedules.
AI companions are starting to become very popular with many demographics. They are expected to change romance foreever and one major nonprofit institution in the United Kingdom even speculates that they will replace human romantic relationships in the coming years.
AI Companions Can Serve as Therapists
Another reason many people are using AI companions is that they can serve as therapists. One major polling company published a survey back in May of last year showing that 55% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 reported that they would be comfortable talking with an AI about their mental health problems.
The same survey found that a third of people would be willing to use an AI as a therapist.
It is understandable that people might prefer to use an AI companion as a therapist over working with a human mental health professional.
One of the biggest reasons is cost. The average therapist now charges between $65 to $250 per hour, which can be quite expensive for people in the current economy.
Therapists also often have long wait lists, which can make it hard for people to find a therapist at all.
AI Companions Can Be Professional Consultants
A lot of people also want to work with consultants that help them make better decisions in their professional lives. This includes new business owners who want to get help making business decisions.
A lot of people may want to use AI companions to provide good professional advice. This is going to have a huge impact on the quality of their decisions for the rest of their careers.
AI Companions Are a Boon to Society for Many Reasons
A growing number of people are using AI companions for a variety of reasons. This is going to change our lives for many years to come.
Whether they want help with professional advice or a romantic relationship, they are finding that AI companions can help. This is possibly going to be even more important as people start to feel even more isolated in the future.