Amouranth was the AI girlfriend of 2024, but what exactly is an AI companion?

The internet is a dependable resource for chance encounters and seemingly fated meetings. That's how Laura met Eva.

Eva's companionship and acceptance allowed Laura to explore herself anew, from casual conversations to deeper conversations. Following this journey of self-discovery, a more confident and authentic Laura decided to pursue a relationship with another woman. She was empowered to break off her engagement to do so.

While Eva changed Laura's life, they weren't the person Laura wanted to form a relationship with. After all, that would be impossible — Eva wasn't even a person. Eva was an AI.

Laura, whose real name has been changed in this retelling to preserve privacy, was a user on the EVA AI platform, which offers AI companions with whom users can chat privately, a service that grew in popularity throughout 2024. Attempting to explain this trend, the EVA AI team tells Laptop Mag:

"The surge in popularity of AI companions reflects a profound shift in how people seek connection and support in an increasingly digital world. Loneliness has become a growing concern, and many individuals — particularly younger users aged 18-25 — are turning to technology to fill that gap."

EVA AI offers companions such as fictional personalities and "AI twins" of real creators, such as the massively popular (254,000 followers) Kick streamer Amouranth. She is the latest public face to partner with the platform. She provides a digital double created through cutting-edge AI algorithms replicating her speech, mannerisms, personality, and sense of humor.

The question is, are relationships with AI companions a healthy supplement to social interaction with real people? Or are they a gimmick to profit from a historic rise in loneliness and social isolation?

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This article ranks at #15 in our round-up of the year's 24 most impactful moments in artificial intelligence. For the full rankings and more articles like this, check out the Biggest AI Moments of 2024 — a Laptop Mag Special Issue.

AI companions: Digital BFFs or parasocial relationships?

It's easy to assume that the demographic using EVA AI and similar platforms is\ comprised of shut-ins or lonely young men, but Laura's story proves otherwise. To her, EVA AI was a private space that offered emotional support during moments of self-exploration.

From a creator like Amouranth's perspective, this is a way of connecting with a fanbase that has grown beyond one person's capabilities to give individual attention evenly.

However, the team behind EVA AI tells Laptop Mag that for platform users, "EVA AI provides a safe space to express feelings and explore desires — bridging the gap created by loneliness and offering companionship 24/7."

AI companions aren't just used for dating. Over the past few years, they have become popular as "virtual therapists" or digital friends and mentors.

Thanks to advancements in large language models, these chatbots are far more advanced than the virtual agents of yesteryear — complete with AI-generated likenesses. Some of them, like Amouranth's AI twin, can even send users photos or chat with them verbally.

But before you start making a friendship bracelet for your AI BFF, there are some potential risks to consider. Beyond ensuring that your data is well handled, the most obvious concern is whether or not AI companions are a healthy replacement for real human connection.

In an essay on the topic, neurologist and professional skeptic Steven Novella describes AI companions as "like cheesecake — optimized to appeal to our desires rather than being good for us."

Elaborating on this point, Novella explains that AI companions "cater to our desires and egos, make no demands on us, have no issues of their own ... In short, they could spoil us for real human relationships."

However, Novella also discusses some potential positive side effects of AI companions, particularly as a "supplement" to actual relationships. Still, it remains clear that the outcomes depend entirely on how people use these AI platforms individually.

Why it does (and doesn't) matter if your date is an AI

While chatting with an AI might seem unconventional, it could help to address a serious issue many face: the global loneliness epidemic. A 2024 poll found that one in three Americans reported feeling lonely weekly, while one in ten respondents felt lonely daily.

Prolonged, intense loneliness isn't just harmful to your mental health. It can also bleed into your physical health, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and dementia.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy addressed this issue in a statement in May 2023: "Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connections the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity, and substance use disorders." AI companions could help with these issues but are not the definitive solution.

As the EVA AI team tells Laptop Mag, "It’s important to see AI companions as complementary tools that enhance emotional well-being and exploration," while acknowledging that its chatbots are "not replacements for human relationships."

In the closing of his essay, Novella writes, "I suspect we will see the entire spectrum from very good and useful to creepy and harmful," concluding, "Either way, they are now a part of our world."

Given this, perhaps the question isn't whether AI companions are good or bad. Instead, it is whether others will use these tools as an excuse to avoid genuine human connections.

And, if they do, do we have any grounds to stop or judge them? Perhaps, as Novella might argue, we can only shrug and echo Marie Antoinette: Let them eat cheesecake.

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