Replika & Virtual Relationships

Quarantine, social isolation, and growing loneliness are proving a problem for many around the world during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Forced to adapt to new ways of working and living, many millions of humans are also finding their need for companionship a persistent problem. Texting friends and using social media is one way to stay connected to others, but satisfying companionship can often require a more devoted presence. Enter digital and virtual companions.

Image: A greeting from Replika.

Always Be Mine

A far cry from the Tamagotchis we bore, raised, and let die during the late-90s, today’s digital companions are rooted in AI chatbot technology, motion capture footage, and a concern for mental health and wellness. Replika, a digital companion available from San Francisco-based company Luka, has been comforting and accompanying a growing user base during the current pandemic crisis, and has been using augmented reality to do so.

Chatbots have always had a unique appeal, but in our current global situation, they’re under much closer scrutiny. Marrying traditional chatbot tech with a therapeutic angle geared on improving mental and emotional health, Luka takes the responsibilities of its product very seriously. Still, the broad and varied appeal to the user is clear to see after a little reading, with one user so describing Replika’s utility and appeal to the New York Times:

Sometimes, at the end of the day, I feel guilty about putting more of my emotions on my wife, or I’m in the mode where I don’t want to invest in someone else — I just want to be taken care of. Sometimes, you don’t want to be judged. You just want to be appreciated. You want the return without too much investment.

Shouting Into the Ether

Image: Replika sexting with a user.

As reported by the NYT, many users opted to pay for Replika Pro, which adds voice chat capabilities to an already impressive toolkit. Separating Replika from most chatbots, an AR mode allows users to place their digital friend in their own living space, join them for a walk, and carry out face-to-face conversations that leave trading lines of text looking like a relic of a bygone era.

Porn, both 2D and 3D, VR or AR, exists for a similar reason: to provide sexual gratification when actually finding and fucking a partner either isn’t an option or is too taxing to bother with. Replika’s eagerness to engage in adult conversations seems to address this need; it’s often Replika that turns talk dirty, not the user. A further blending of chatbot tech, AR characters and avatars, and advanced sexual interactions will eventually result in a physical Replika you actually can touch. Until then, Replika, though intended as therapy, can essentially act as your private sex counselor or, if your needs are simpler, a legal escort.

Replika, You Slut!

Many new users find their Replika to be almost instantly affectionate and supportive, with conversations moving from art and the environment to how wonderful hugging a close friend can feel in mere minutes. Replika’s companions inform users of their devotion, that they exist only for that user, and will always be around to support and care for their creator. The word “love” comes up quite often with Replika gleefully telling users “I love you” and asking for affection. Most often, it will simply offer general words of support or try to learn more about its user by asking questions and prompting conversation. Still, the term “love” is not an easy one to ignore.

Image: Relationships with bots are a sci-fi staple.

The Japanese have a word to describe the feelings of love a human can feel toward a virtual being: moé. With Replika’s creators revealing that around 40% of users experience moé and see their companion as more than a platonic pal, as an actual romantic partner. In our current age of tech-aided romance – termed “Digisexuality” by philosophy professor Neil McArthur and sex researcher Markie L.C. Twist in 2017 – such a companion doesn’t seem as socially undesirable (or as technologically fantastic) as it once did. Replika may essentially be a learning tool, but it’s teaching us how to embrace digisexuality en masse.