AI girlfriends are here – but there’s a dark side to virtual companions

‘Since those early days, however, virtual companions have become more sophisticated – so much so that people have described falling in love with chatbots.’ Photograph: Artur Debat/Getty Images

Love in the time of ChatGPT

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a computer must be in want of an AI girlfriend. Certainly a lot of enterprising individuals seem to think there’s a lucrative market for digital romance. OpenAI recently launched its GPT Store, where paid ChatGPT users can buy and sell customized chatbots (think Apple’s app store, but for chatbots) – and the offerings include a large selection of digital girlfriends.