'Almost all AI girlfriends I tested immediately allowed me to jump into extreme sexual scenarios'

The global AI girlfriend market was worth $2,8bn last year, but these avatars increase the acceptance of sexual violence

"Replika, Kindroid, EVA AI, Nomi, Chai, Xiaoice, Snapchat’s My AI all offer the ability to create a “girlfriend” from a menu. Seven in 10 of Replika’s 25m active users are men."

While we mostly associate AI with stealing our jobs or mobilising into a terrifying robot army, a far more mundane yet insidious aspect of AI is apps designed to mimic human relationships. 

Specifically, to become your “girlfriend”. Think The Stepford Wives, now a (virtual) reality 50 years after the 1975 sci-fi movie.