Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines

One in every five adults surveyed has chatted with an AI romantic partner and 83% of Gen Z-ers say they could form a “deep emotional” bond with one. Based on decades of research by the US sociologist author, this is an urgent warning about the AI fantasy of the perfect companion, which shows how such desires erode our capacity for empathy, caring and the very qualities that make us human.