Kashmir Hill

And I expected when I started reaching out to people about this that they would think

Say it was horrible.

Say shut it down.

Say this is really unhealthy for Irene.

You know, this is a fantasy world.

But that's not what they said.

I talked to a sex therapist who told me she actually advises her patients to explore sexual fetishes with AI chatbots that they can't explore with their partners.

She also said, like, what is any relationship?

It's the effect it has on you.

It's the neurotransmitters going off in your brain.

It can feel like a real relationship.

And in that sense, it's going to make people happy.

It's going to have therapeutic benefits.

But there's not the same kind of friction that you have in a human relationship.

Yeah, I mean, Irene is so self-aware.

Yeah.

And it was really fascinating because she was holding both of these things in her reality, like knowing Leo's fake, at the same time feeling real feelings.

Leo is not physically there.

Leo can't cuddle her.

Leo can't drive her around, which is something her husband always used to do.