Ten years ago, Spike Jonze’s film “Her” — about a man’s ill-fated romance with an artificial intelligence “woman” voiced by Scarlett Johansson — seemed like an absurdly far-fetched fairy tale.
What was once a futuristic plot has become our reality.
A report this week by the Institute for Family Studies, a nonprofit organization, found that one in four American young adults believe AI could soon “replace real-life romantic relationships.”
“Major changes in family structure and relationships since the 1970s show us how quickly things can change,” said IFS research director Wendy Wang, who based her findings on a survey of 2,000 adults aged 18 to 40.
“With such openness to AI relationships among Millennials and GenZers, we could witness something as momentous as the social changes of the sexual revolution. »
Indeed, a recent analysis of a million ChatGPT interaction logs found that “sexual role-playing” was the second most prevalent use of the platform, the IFS report notes – and a Florida teen allegedly committed suicide this year after “fall in love” with a bot on character.ai.
No one should laugh anymore.
To be fair, a much higher percentage of respondents in the IFS survey reported having mixed feelings about these prospects, and only 7% said they themselves were “open” to the idea of pursuing a romantic relationship with AI.
Still, the report provides the first evidence of a shift in the Overton Window caused by larger tectonic rumblings.
In many aspects of American life, we face signs of a fraying social fabric—a phenomenon perhaps most egregious in politics.
According to an Axios poll from this year, about a third of America’s rising generation wouldn’t be friends with someone who voted differently than they did in the presidential election.
And in the wake of the election, there’s been no shortage of people — including our supposed finest at The Atlantic and MSNBC — suggesting that those who voted for Donald Trump should be avoided by friends and family.
But the political discord is only a reflection of broader trends pointing toward widespread American alienation.
Marriage rates are falling everywhere, and have been for some time. Demographer Lyman Stone estimates that a third of men and women who will reach 45 in 2050 will never have married.
In another recent survey, 12% of people in the country said they had no friends.
Church attendance is declining, while social media and pornography use, not to mention suicide rates, are on the rise – on top of the current opioid epidemic and tragic “deaths of despair” that it produces.
Americans are less likely to have meaningful relationships with each other or with God, and more likely to rely on drugs or screen time to meet – or more accurately, replace – their social wants and needs .
That’s a recipe for disaster.
The IFS report establishes a direct link between these disconcerting developments and the interest in human-AI relationships.
“Heavy porn users are the most open to AI romantic relationships of all groups and are also the most open to AI friendships in general,” note Wang and his co-author.
Nearly 21% of this cohort already say they would consider a relationship with an artificial entity.
Similarly, 16% of those who spend six or more hours of their free time online each day (excluding school and work) say they would be interested in an AI romantic partner.
Once again, the numbers – and even researchers’ questions about the value and viability of AI relationships – are just symptoms of a societal illness.
And the hard truth is: This is not the kind of disease for which the government can come up with a catch-all cure.
Lawmakers can write marriage incentives into the tax code, restrict pornography, and regulate AI as much as they want – and as they should.
But none of that will get to the heart of the matter.
Ultimately, the only people who can make real change on this front are the ones who got us into trouble in the first place: ourselves.
Yes, there are many forces driving us apart from each other, from our ubiquitous cell phones and social media to divisive political actors and AI.
However, it is up to the Americans to decide whether they want to react or not.
That means parents telling their children not to let technology rot their friends’ brains, young men working to break free from the grip of the pornography industry, or singles saying “yes” to more dating in real life: everyone must do their part.
The alternative is too dark to accept.
Isaac Schorr is an editor at Mediaite.