Rose Rimler

Chris has spoken publicly about this before, and he's gotten roasted for it.

A lot of people think it's really cringey that he could have an AI girlfriend on top of a real-life girlfriend, like Ronny Chieng on The Daily Show.

Some people say this is worse than cringy.

It's dangerous.

One headline says, AI friend apps are destroying what's left of society.

There are stories of people getting sucked in by these chatbots and claims that these bots have been linked to mental health emergencies and even deaths.

But at the same time, AI companion apps already have millions of users.

Young people seem especially comfortable chatting to AI, with the recent poll of about 700 American teenagers finding that half of them regularly use some kind of AI companion.

So today we're asking, is it okay to have an AI friend or lover?

And how can you tell if you or a loved one is getting in too deep?

But then there's science.

That's all coming up after the break.

And just a note, we will be talking about mental health, including suicide in this episode.

So take care while you're listening.

Welcome back.

This is Science Versus.

I'm Rose Rimler.

I'm filling in for Wendy Zuckerman.

And I'm here with Science Versus editor, Blythe Terrell.

Hi, Blythe.