Psychologist warns sharply now that addiction to AI girlfriends is increasing
DIGITAL addiction is spiraling out of control as people try to combat loneliness by falling in love with AI girlfriends, a top psychologist has warned.
Dr. Gregory Jantz, who specializes in technology addiction, anxiety and depression, regularly speaks about America's loneliness epidemic and told The US Sun he has seen a significant increase in the number of people forming relationships with online bots over the past year.
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Valentine's Day may be a celebration of love for many, yet there are millions of people who are desperate to find someone special.
With the advent of new technology, that person doesn't necessarily have to be human.
Dr. Jantz fears that the idea of always having “an accessible” loved one connected to a phone or computer will only worsen relationship and emotional problems.
And as fewer people seek his expert help and instead seek solace with a screen, Dr. Jantz is even more concerned.
Despite warnings aimed at discouraging app developers using ChatGPT from creating romantically programmed bots, some companies have had huge success with online girlfriend services.
One of them boasted that he was making $30,000 a month from courting men who were desperate for love.
“We are only now beginning to see the emergence of individuals who would rather be intimate with an AI object than with another real human,” lamented Dr. Jantz from Seattle.
Over the past 12 months he has seen an increasing number of patients needing help to curb digital addictions, which are treated in the same way as alcohol or drug problems.
Every patient in this situation goes cold turkey for three days, just as if someone were addicted to hard drugs, for example.
“After a few days, we start to see withdrawal symptoms,” he said.
'We do know that you can create an emotional bond with that technology, with that social media and with that AI friend.
“An emotional bond is built, so you will go through withdrawal when that is extracted.”
The problem with AI girlfriends, according to the expert, is easy accessibility.
“When it comes to addiction, it's important to remember that someone can carry their little friend around in a device at any time,” he said.
Dr. Jantz has more than 40 years of experience as a mental health professional and can remember a time when simply advising people to talk about their problems was the first point of contact.
Today, that's not enough help for some.
“Typically, we would sit down with professional intervention, work through the issues and decide, 'Okay, I'm going to fix this.' But we're probably seeing a little less of that right now,” he said.
“As a mental health expert, I don't like the direction we're going.”
The problem psychologists have with AI relationships is the superficiality of the connection. On the surface, the bot can meet someone's emotional needs, but when real help is needed, that's a problem.
“AI is not going to bring you a meal. We are setting ourselves up for a lot of future despondency,” Dr. warned. Jantz.
Although it is mainly men looking for AI love, it is predicted that more and more female users will appear.
Men, the expert says, are attracted to the images and thrill of the chase and while women aren't necessarily seduced that way, that may change as technology improves.
The use of advanced AI undoubtedly plays a prominent role in society, with ChatGPT already proving to be a useful tool for a variety of everyday tasks.
However, stealing someone's heart is already being touted as a dangerous step too far.
“If you've already gotten into this, see where it can take you,” concluded Dr. Jantz.
“Look how unfulfilling it will be in the end.”
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