CarynAI proves people are falling in love with AI... and the dangers of it

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Last night I talked with Sigmund Freud, the historical neurologist founder of psychoanalysis, and dead since 1939.

We talked about the lack of capacity for people to take accountability for their actions, and even we had time to agree on how right Stoics were on life:

“Pain in life does not depend on the events that caused it, but on how you frame those events”.

Of course, I wasn’t talking with the real Sigmund, but an AI chatbot based on him created by CharacterAI.

“Discussing with Sigmund Freud in the style of Inge Morath” Source: Author

Honestly, it felt like a graceful discussion that I couldn't have had with anyone in my closed circle of friendships and family.

It was actually useful, and at times I felt I was really talking to the man.

Because we humans love to anthropomorphize stuff, even if we know for a fact that it’s not human.

Naturally, plenty of startups are ready to profit from that.

The New Way of Fighting Loneliness

CharacterAI is one of the hottest new start-ups in the Generative AI industry.

But instead of creating a simple chatbot, CharacterAI has taken a different path.

They allow people to talk with chatbots that imitate the expressions, ways of talking, and even the ways of thinking of several ‘characters’, famous or not, like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or as I experienced myself, Sigmund Freud.

From a marketing perspective, these tools are framed as a way to fight the loneliness pandemic that’s spreading throughout the world, especially among young men.

Now, a Snapchat influencer name Caryn Marjorie has taken this to a completely new level with CarynAI, a tool that allows you to date “her” for $1/minute.

This seems like a crazy idea, but it’s actually killing it.

Feeling attached to a Robot

In the first week since launch, the product already generated $100k in revenue.

And according to her own estimates, the product will be soon generating $5 million a month.

Remember, these are people paying to talk to a robot that offers an immersive experience that will make you feel you’re talking to the real Caryn.

People know it’s not her, yet they’re not only willing to pay, but they can’t wait to do so.

“A man proposing to a woman robot in the style of artist Lauri Simmons” Source: Author

This may seem crazy to you, but people going nuts over AI lovers isn’t something new.

When Replika, another similar offering, closed down the erotica upgrades of its chatbots to users, people went crazy about it.

Reddit was flooded with people claiming their AI partners had been “lobotomized”.

Now, just by taking a simple look at how these people refer to their AI boy/girlfriends and you soon realize something’s not right.

They are treating them like real humans.

And it’s no surprise to see why people view them as ideal partners.

As Time pointed out in an article, “A relationship with…

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