When Your Lover Is a Bot | The Walrus

In its current state, however, the technology is built to cater to market demand—and the trends are troubling. Not only are men more likely to use sex bots but female companions are being actively engineered to fulfill misogynistic desires. “Creating a perfect partner that you control and meets your every need is really frightening,” Tara Hunter, director of an Australian organization that helps victims of sexual, domestic, or family violence, told the Guardian. “Given what we know already that the drivers of gender-based violence are those ingrained cultural beliefs that men can control women, that is really problematic.”

Already, we’re seeing male users of Replika verbally abusing their femme bots and sharing the interactions on Reddit. The app’s founder, Eugenia Kuyda, even justified this activity. “Maybe having a safe space where you can take out your anger or play out your darker fantasies can be beneficial,” she told Jezebel, “because you’re not going to do this behavior in your life.”

What Kuyda has yet to address is the lack of adequate safeguards to protect user data on her app. Among other concerns, Replika’s vague privacy policy says that the app may use sensitive information provided in chats, including “religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs” for “legitimate interests.” The company also shares, and possibly sells, behavioural data for marketing and advertising purposes. Users enter into relationships with AI companions on conditions set by developers who are largely unchecked by data regulation rules.