Recently there is talk of AI (artificial intelligence) 'girlfriends' who communicate like a human.
It is said that this is more persuasive for men than for women.
Here are the 3 main points that psychologists emphasize about artificial intelligence girlfriends:
AI sex doesn't have to be better than the real thing.
It just has to be compelling in some way - basically, fill an unmet need. The fact that most of us prefer a ribeye steak to a McDonald's hamburger hasn't put McDonald's out of business. Nutrition, like sex, is enjoyable in many different varieties.
Over the past few decades, people have had less sex. For example, among men aged 18 to 24, one in three have not had sex in the past year. This is the population that may find AI girlfriends the most compelling.
Romantic relationships take effort and are challenging.
Maintaining a healthy relationship requires energy and time that are in short supply for many people today. For example, the American Psychological Association's 2022 Stress Survey in America finds that 27% of Americans feel that "most days, they are so stressed that they can't function as a couple. This is not a group that has enough energy to care for a romance.
The rate of sexual disturbances and dysfunctions remains high.
In fact, up to 40% of US adults report some sexual discomfort or dysfunction. Sexual problems are often associated with self-consciousness, anxiety or shame. As a result, people with sexual dysfunctions are more likely to avoid sex with a human partner and instead choose sex technology like pornography. As sex technology advances, it would make sense that these increasingly realistic alternatives to human sex would become even more compelling.
