Could Your AI Agent Also Be Your Lover? — With Replika CEO Eugenia Kuyda

Eugenia Kuyda is the founder and CEO of Replika, an AI companion app where people befriend — and sometimes fall in love with — AI bots. Kuyda joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the nature of these relationships, and what they say about our society. In this conversation, Kuyda reveals Replika's ambition for its "phase two," a plan to have AI friends join us in the real world, helping us keep in touch with friends, get off social media, or even watch movies together. Tune in for a fascinating look at the future of human + AI relationships.

Chapters

0:00 - Introduction to Eugenia Kuyda and Replika
1:15 - What is Replika? Understanding AI Companions
2:22 - The Reality of User Relationships with AI
4:19 - Case Study: How Replika Helps with Recovery
5:37 - The Emotional Impact of AI Companions
7:32 - Society's Struggle with Human Connection
9:35 - Technology's Role in Modern Loneliness
13:35 - Vision for AI-Enhanced Human Relationships
16:41 - Current Features vs Future Vision
19:27 - Privacy and User Trust Discussion
21:57 - Expanding Beyond the App Experience
24:19 - Managing User Trust and Model Changes
28:07 - Evolution of AI Models Over 10 Years
32:20 - Growth and Competition in AI Companions
34:42 - Technical Infrastructure Discussion
37:53 - AI Therapy: Possibilities and Limitations
42:02 - Personal Story: AI and Grief
46:10 - AI Creativity vs Training Discussion
48:39 - The Potential Risks of AI Companions

[sammy]

love is basically dependence. when you depend on someone, they become important to you (or you "love" them). if the loved person respects the taste of the lover, this then fosters self love which is an extremely powerful incentive. so it's definitely going to happen that people will "love" AI because we'll inevitably depend on them for more and more. seems far fetched currently, but once we come to trust AI, it'll likely become the most loved being on earth