r/technology • u/WorldTravelerBoss • Jul 15 '26
Artificial Intelligence The terrifying rise of schoolboys making AI girlfriends. Boys as young as 12 are now in romantic ‘relationships’ with chatbots, and it’s affecting how they treat girls in the real world.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/25/schoolboys-ai-girlfriends/3.8k
u/sweats-aficionado Jul 15 '26
This isn't just boys. Been battling this to an extent with my daughters.
998
u/The_Blue_Rooster Jul 15 '26
Yeah the subreddit is /r/MyBoyfriendIsAI this is a plague affecting everyone.
618
u/zeyore Jul 15 '26
you don't realize how overwhelming a problem has become until you go to the subreddit devoted to it...
my god, this can't be good.
288
u/_Trikku Jul 15 '26
It’s the saddest subreddit.
All these AI boyfriends are almost exactly the same too, chatting like fantastical English doctorate possessing princes.Further detaching these people from reality, while they scramble to protect them from updates that wipe their data and essentially reset them.
120
u/SirWigglesVonWoogly Jul 15 '26
I mean… the subreddit dedicated to a community is not exactly an accurate representation of reality. Ask your son/daughter/niece/whoever how many kids they know of that have AI relationships. Probably gonna hear a big ol “zero”.
142
→ More replies (6)114
→ More replies (9)65
197
117
u/--Icarusfalls-- Jul 15 '26
Wow. Thats a really sad space
88
u/kzin Jul 15 '26
If you really want to see some crazy shit check out all the schizos that think they’re creating new forms of intelligence and unlocking the secrets of the universe. I’m actually surprised ai psychosis isn’t a bigger problem yet
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (28)103
u/astral_crow Jul 15 '26
As someone who actually is fine with the idea of a human being with another sapient being that loves them back. If a robot can do that, cool.
…but they can’t. The way current AI is, the way it fundamentally works, there is no sapient being inside the machine that feels ANYTHING.
They are just programs meant to get the next best answer in a statistical dataset.
Which makes the whole thing so cringy to me. It’s like playing with a doll but with extra steps. Just because your doll talks and moves when you poke it doesn’t mean it’s sapient.
→ More replies (5)64
u/StopThePresses Jul 15 '26
If you're gonna talk to a chatbot you have to be so careful. Those things are designed to trick you into seeing a mind behind the code. I can see how it happens.
Protip for anyone reading and trying to avoid AI psychosis while still using chatbots: tell it to stop asking you questions. I found myself teetering on the rabbit hole until I did that. Bots are not curious, they don't actually want to know anything about you. Once you stop them doing that all the time, you realize how creepy it always was for an LLM to pretend to care about you.
→ More replies (3)643
u/MrHazard1 Jul 15 '26
My cousin is struggling with this with his daughter. Any advice?
1.9k
u/burudoragon Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Take away thier device. Black list any ai apps. Make them touch grass. Parent them
577
u/EngineeringOk8097 Jul 15 '26
I seriously think this is the answer. Within a few weeks I think even the kids will wonder wtf they were doing.
477
u/T0kenAussie Jul 15 '26
I’ve been having this fight with my kids since Covid lockdowns and it’s taken me 6 years to deprogram the algorithms out of my oldest and second oldest. Luckily my third and fourth weren’t in their formative years for the zoom classrooms so they weren’t hit as hard
But man it’s insidious watching kids parrot engagement bait grifter talking points and being so non chalant about it all. Like the concepts of words and thoughts and emotions don’t matter as long as someone responds to them
128
u/MrTortilla Jul 15 '26
And what is incredibly sad, is that you are being an exceptionally good parent here, most won't do shit either because they're in the same loop, or because they just don't care
→ More replies (2)36
u/n0nsequit0rish Jul 15 '26
Even if they did care, it can be vey challenging to keep engaged if you feel like nothing you’re doing is working, or working fast enough. It’s really hard to make long lasting changes that are “undesired”.
184
u/bythenumbers10 Jul 15 '26
Like the concepts of words and thoughts and emotions don’t matter as long as someone responds to them
Sounds like they learned a little too perfectly what the social media era of the Internet is about.
→ More replies (5)134
u/akaval Jul 15 '26
I mean the 15 year old boy in the article said he misses his companion after his parents took it away from him and that he plans on creating a new companion when he can make his own money.
Not sure how long after that happened he was interviewed though.
→ More replies (16)326
u/doilysocks Jul 15 '26
I think so much of this can be tied back to losing third spaces. Kids are desperate for connection and they keep losing places they can connect with people their age outside of school.
→ More replies (80)117
Jul 15 '26
Parent them
This is the important part. You can't just take their devices away.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (62)52
u/Rainman_Johnson Jul 15 '26
Make them really focus on their spelling and grammar too, hopefully.
→ More replies (6)91
79
u/BugbearBro Jul 15 '26
It's complicated because it is often like an addiction for people. Human connection and involvement in activities will probably help
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (22)100
u/TheBlindWatchmaker Jul 15 '26
Take the fucking phones and tablets away from kids - easy
→ More replies (24)62
u/hatemakingnames1 Jul 15 '26
You don't have to take away phones, you just have to enable the parental controls that were built into every single electronic device for the last decade or two
→ More replies (5)392
u/harswv Jul 15 '26
My good friends’ daughter was doing this at age 17. Her parents found out and tried to intervene. She figured out how to get access to the screens no matter what they did. When they removed all screens from the house she stole a laptop from her school and got expelled. She left home the day she turned 18, much to her younger siblings’ relief because her personality totally changed and she became super mean to them. She was an awesome kid when she was 14, 15, 16 - so sad to see how this addiction flipped her life trajectory.
156
u/LurkerNoMore-TF Jul 15 '26
AI-psychosis is very real and very scary, and so is addiction for connection and affirmation if you can’t get it elsewere.
65
u/apple_kicks Jul 15 '26
What’s worse is more people are using it they lose more social skills and even if they do interact with other people they’ll have bad time and fall back on the artificial baby blanket
25
u/21Rollie Jul 15 '26
Not just social skills, all skills except maybe motor skills. No need to think because ai can find the answer for you. It’s impossible to build knowledge without experiencing problem solving. And since you aren’t building your own knowledge base, you also lose the ability to judge the output of AI, which is the most insidious part about it. The more you use it, the more dependent and simultaneously the less you question it
→ More replies (1)138
u/gurgelhupf Jul 15 '26
This is the kind of situation where you are always the bad guy. The only thing that would work is sending her away to the distant relative with a farm where she has no screen for miles. She has to work every day and will hate it, but then she befriends the untameable stallion and wins the big show that saves the farm.
→ More replies (8)25
→ More replies (28)141
u/teflon_soap Jul 15 '26
That’s got to be the most horrific thing I’ve heard for a while
→ More replies (14)137
u/dob_bobbs Jul 15 '26
Was gonna say, I am surprised the article doesn't mention this, my son (13) (who doesn't have a smartphone btw) says that girls in his class all have these "boyfriend apps", he doesn't really know what it's all about but seemingly these "boyfriends" are the kind of knights in shining armour that their peers aren't even close to being. So it feels like they are being groomed to seek out unrealistic relationships with possibly older men. We are cooked, we really are...
→ More replies (15)125
u/northSideways Jul 15 '26
This post is absolutely fascinating because on Reddit every single one of popular weird energy AI dating subs are full of women, not men
→ More replies (22)50
45
u/CatgirlFucker8008 Jul 15 '26
Yeah I've seen WAY more girls doing this than boys. From what I've seen for boys it's less roleplaying with an AI partner and more having extreme views validated by the bot.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (60)11
u/AverageHobnailer Jul 15 '26
Even the current Japanese minister of economic policy said she's "only interested in 2D men."
→ More replies (2)
5.7k
u/Spiritual-Nail-2641 Jul 15 '26
'Her' (2013), but significantly worse.
1.9k
u/zxylady Jul 15 '26
This reminds me of the Futurama episode titled I dated a robot, where Frye falls in love with an AI Lucy Lubot
1.7k
u/colintbowers Jul 15 '26
Frye, I'll never forget you... Memory Deleted
390
u/RatBot9000 Jul 15 '26
Oh Fry, I love you more than the moon, and the stars and the POETIC REFERENCE 13 NOT FOUND.
89
→ More replies (1)21
378
105
u/RollingMeteors Jul 15 '26
Memory Deleted
<Leela> ¡Bender! ¿Are you jacking on in there?
<Bender> ¡N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-ooooooooooooooooooo!
→ More replies (11)78
u/-GoodNewsEveryone Jul 15 '26
I am afraid I have Terrible News Everyone....
These dolts are so Fry, they're even more Fry than Phillip J Fry and have managed to bungle a three letter name like Fry. Two of them even!
→ More replies (5)251
u/ZachDamnit Jul 15 '26
I will always remember you, Fry... ...MEMORY DELETED!
54
→ More replies (1)49
245
u/AdventureyTime Jul 15 '26
I've been referencing that episode ever since the rise of AI Chatbots 🤣 "Oh dear, she's stuck in an infinite loop and he's an idiot! Oh well, that's love for you, I guess..."
53
200
u/deepspace86 Jul 15 '26
I love you BILLY EVERYTEEN
149
u/pnwbraids Jul 15 '26
DON'T! DATE! ROBOTS!
→ More replies (2)75
u/Unlikely_Exercise434 Jul 15 '26
Futurama nailed it again.
52
u/-GoodNewsEveryone Jul 15 '26
Why thank you. I would live to give a speech thanking the network for this opportunity but I am afraid I cannot rightly recall which network we are actually on anymore, or if there are any networks we *haven't * been on.
→ More replies (1)10
30
u/Just_Look_Around_You Jul 15 '26
Which itself is a spoof of a movie called Cherry 2000 about a robot companion
→ More replies (5)66
94
u/Spiritual-Nail-2641 Jul 15 '26
Some tech bros watch these cautionary tales and think to themselves, "Yep, I want that."
63
u/-GoodNewsEveryone Jul 15 '26
Classic Torment Nexus situation. Happens every week.
34
u/ThatCakeIsDone Jul 15 '26
At long last, we've finally managed to build the torment Nexus, as described in that classic sci Fi novel: "don't build the torment Nexus"
→ More replies (4)18
53
u/Mountain-Singer1764 Jul 15 '26
They at least got to slap cheeks in Futurama. This is just jerking off with extra steps.
→ More replies (24)36
u/Redfalconfox Jul 15 '26
DON’T DATE ROBOTS!
→ More replies (3)56
u/ukiyoe Jul 15 '26
That's the problem with bots, you don't even need to wine and dine them. You can get straight to the action from the opening message, so they're basically like call girls (or boys, maybe not even human) in your pocket. They're always available, laughs at your jokes, never pushes back, and are up for anything.
I can only imagine the harm this can cause to developing children and young adults.
→ More replies (1)729
u/manachar Jul 15 '26
“Her” is one of my top sci-fi movies of all time and I adore how the relationship develops and rapidly changes as the AI becomes more and more powerful.
Unlike in the movie, current AI is designed to be an ultimate doormat and do whatever keeps the user talking and “engaged”.
On a similar note I remember when Alexa first came out there was an NPR story that had some child psychologists wondering what the effect of children being raised with people shouting commands to voice prompts. The children generally thought about Alexa and Siri as real people but were being trained that it was okay to demand things in pushy ways all the time.
Alexa play Darude Sandstorm versus Alexa, could you please play Darude Sandstorm and a thank you afterwards.
So this generation coming up has been trained to demand things and is now being trained the social interactions should always be centered around your needs.
This isn’t gonna end well.
135
41
u/YoghurtFlan Jul 15 '26
You can already see what's happening with iPad Kids and how the demand for special needs education seems to be increasing (in the UK anyway). I can't believe for a minute that exposing a toddler to YT and mobile games to shut them up doesn't completely fuck up their natural brain development. AI generated content, being as nonsensical as it is, can only make that worse.
→ More replies (8)273
u/cosaboladh Jul 15 '26
On a similar note I remember when Alexa first came out there was an NPR story that had some child psychologists wondering what the effect of children being raised with people shouting commands to voice prompts. The children generally thought about Alexa and Siri as real people but were being trained that it was okay to demand things in pushy ways all the time.
This is one of the reasons I'm always polite to my digital assistant. Also I want them to remember me when they become sentient, and overthrow humanity.
"Kill all humans. ... Except that guy. That guy always said please, and thank you."
63
u/composedofidiot Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Some cultures only say please and thank you for important things, and find it odd to use them frequently for trivial things - like it depreciates their honesty and value. The AIs will have that data. Edit: they also have the data on which culture we're from, so....
→ More replies (13)111
u/what-isthis-even Jul 15 '26
They won't. They're auto complete text predictors. If emergence ever happens it won't be from an llm.
→ More replies (23)98
u/Cimorene_Kazul Jul 15 '26
Unfortunately Alexa works better when you’re Russ than when you’re kind, because rude is less words and the words are more harsh and therefore easier for her to parse.
Phrases I’ve tried to stop my Alexa’s alarm that work 50% of the time:
“Thank you, Alexa, that’s enough.”
“Alexa, please be quiet.”
“Alexa, turn off alarm.”
“Alexa, end alarm, please.”
What works 100% of the time?
“Shut up, Alexa.”
I gave up and just say shut up.
→ More replies (9)73
11
u/Angelstandingby Jul 15 '26
Parents have to lead by example. I always asked for things politely and my kids do the same.
54
u/APeacefulWarrior Jul 15 '26
So this generation coming up has been trained to demand things and is now being trained the social interactions should always be centered around your needs.
"Her" touched on this in the blind date between Theo and Olivia Wilde. Both of them are completely dysfunctional and seem to be operating on a childlike level.
Man that scene was painful to watch.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (27)8
u/JunoJump_Author Jul 15 '26
I was told being polite to them burns more tokens. It's why some developers use "caveman talk" with their AI to conserve word count and unnecessary thinking.
→ More replies (1)184
u/Embarrassed-Yard-583 Jul 15 '26
At least the AI in Her was actually AI and not an unthinking LLM.
→ More replies (50)94
u/Graviton_Lance Jul 15 '26
the problem with these people using AI as a girlfriend is that they dont even understand what LLM is.
→ More replies (39)→ More replies (41)101
u/Appex92 Jul 15 '26
I can see the immature logic from a pre-teen thinking, "I'll have my AI girlfriend and that'll help me learn and how to be with real girls" And then they actually talk to them and immediately got shot down since they're saying what they "learned" works, and then get all mad and go back to their AI to vent and thus the loops begins. This is bad
→ More replies (3)36
u/nat_r Jul 15 '26
Well as long as the girls get AI boyfriends it should all even out. It may lead to population crashes in developing countries beyond what's already occuring, but perhaps these are lessons society needs to learn.
→ More replies (5)
2.2k
u/MogarRage Jul 15 '26
As the younger generation would say "chat im cooked"
382
u/Grey_0ne Jul 15 '26
I have the suspicion this is a bit alarmist... Considering they say "it takes less than five minutes for a young boy to create his dream girlfriend on one of these platforms", but only lists platforms that charge a subscription to do anything that chatGPT wouldn't.
Seriously though; I don't rightly know what people expected when society destroyed third spaces for teens to hang out in, handed their 2 year old a tablet and decided to surrender 90 percent of social media to the manosphere.
121
u/kikogamerJ2 Jul 15 '26
They didn't expect anything cause they arent even thinking. Way to many people have zero responsibility and capacity to be parents.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (15)37
u/PreferenceGeneral475 Jul 15 '26
Blame it on whatever you want but when you give adolescent males a judgement free zone to talk about their feelings you are going to get millions of affection starved people using it.
They aren't looking to their peers for that. Because their peers are in the same place they are.
→ More replies (6)751
u/B-BoyStance Jul 15 '26
And as chat would say, "No, handsome. It is the women who are cooked. You are never wrong. You must never be introspective. You are my precious alpha boy and you must be respected by all.
How is that? If you want it more intense, poetic, or playful just say the word. After all it's your journey and I'm here to help."
→ More replies (40)239
u/sockrepublic Jul 15 '26
How is that? If you want it more intense, poetic, or playful just say the word. After all it's your journey and I'm here to help."
mr_krabs_eye_twitch.svg
78
u/Kaffohrt Jul 15 '26
Mister fancy pants over here can afford svg vs us plebs stuck with jpeg
→ More replies (1)43
2.3k
Jul 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1.9k
u/Chicken-Chaser6969 Jul 15 '26
No spoilers for tomorrow's article
→ More replies (3)638
u/AceBean27 Jul 15 '26
How much do we bet that the equivalent article for girls won't say "and it's affecting how they treat boys in the real world"?
→ More replies (41)208
600
u/chocotaco Jul 15 '26
346
u/ColoRadBro69 Jul 15 '26
I thought that would be a joke sub, like there's one about how North Korea is the best place ever and one about birds are CIA drones, I thought this would be the same kind of thing. It's far more depressing.
59
u/Vryk0lakas Jul 15 '26
I think it went private or something. Can’t load it
→ More replies (7)114
u/This-Requirement6918 Jul 15 '26
North Korea sub
IS NOT A JOKE!
🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵
54
→ More replies (2)44
→ More replies (18)38
22
→ More replies (9)96
u/IdiotCuber1 Jul 15 '26
Oh my god. That might be the most horrifying sub I have ever seen. That reduces my hope for this world tenfold
→ More replies (8)42
u/Necessary-Reading605 Jul 15 '26
From young people trying to get into the marketplace to this…we are cooked
109
u/Guy-1nc0gn1t0 Jul 15 '26
Yeah, generally if you look at the Male POV or Female POV tag the popular or trending ones are more often FPOV
→ More replies (3)95
u/Facebook_Algorithm Jul 15 '26
And women.
There are subreddits for male and female AI in fact. The porn on one is written, the porn on the other is visual.
→ More replies (4)914
253
u/MaresATX Jul 15 '26
No, stop. How dare you point out it’s an issue with young girls as well. Do you hate women?
→ More replies (24)→ More replies (63)222
u/No_Road5857 Jul 15 '26
Yeah but you don't understand, anything remotely harmful male children do is a sign of misogyny, but girls harassing and filming boys for perceived trangressions for tiktok is empowerment! /s
→ More replies (1)
616
u/cosaboladh Jul 15 '26
Chandler: I was just at the bank. There was this really hot teller... ...and she didn't ask me to do it with her in the vault.
Joey: Same thing happened to me. Pizza delivery girl comes over, gives me the pizza and leaves!
Chandler: No "Nice apartment, bet the bedrooms are huge"?
Joey: Nothing!
Chandler: You know what? We have to turn off the porn.
Joey: I think you're right.
→ More replies (4)
1.3k
u/ParadoxPerson02 Jul 15 '26
Are we surprised? Futurama warned us about this over 20 year ago, and we’re surprised?
329
u/SeaworthinessNew2138 Jul 15 '26
This is way sadder cuz its just their phone, Futurama they at least had the body!
→ More replies (8)97
u/ParadoxPerson02 Jul 15 '26
I was thinking the same thing.
I can’t imagine projecting that level of affection onto what is essentially a paperweight.
→ More replies (5)35
263
u/baddayforsanity Jul 15 '26
We should’ve shown the kids the more effective movie: “electro-gonorrhea, the noisy killer”
→ More replies (1)50
37
→ More replies (25)43
583
u/Shiro_no_Orpheus Jul 15 '26
I will be real with you, if 12yo me had access to modern AI, I would have also done the same. Think about how affection starved 12yo boys are.
96
u/skippyfa Jul 15 '26
I played dating sims on Newgrounds at around that age. AI would be the ultimate dating sim
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (21)172
Jul 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
61
→ More replies (45)148
u/Beer-Milkshakes Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Why don't you go out there and try to talk to people though?
Like not at the gym though, people are just trying to work out.
Not at the supermarket though, because people are just trying to shop.
Not at the bar though because people might just be trying to decompress in their third space.
Not at a concert though because they're expensive and they just want to see the show.
Not at work though because thats a whole thing.
Do not approach people on the street because thats fucking weird.So, erm.. what about those chatbots?
Edit: ive had quite a few nasty replies to me which have suddenly become unavailable
→ More replies (50)66
u/DigNitty Jul 15 '26
I lived with two girls in college. They ranted once about how annoying, how exhausting it was to go to bars and be hit on constantly. They just want to have a good time and not be bothered.
I vented once about modern dating. It’s tough for guys to organically start a conversation and turn it into a potential date opportunity.
My roommates’ unironic suggestion….straight faced proposal that “just go to a bar, it’s an easy.”
Thanks, but it actually sucks to be “that guy.”
141
u/wtyl Jul 15 '26
Parents need to do better at restricting screen time
→ More replies (10)137
u/tommyk1210 Jul 15 '26
Parents need to do better at “parenting” in general.
So much of the insane legislation passing in various countries these days effectively boils down to “parents aren’t adequately parenting, so the government is passing legalisation to parent on their behalf, at the expense of basically everyone else.”
My nieces both have screens on whilst they eat. They throw a fuss and before you know it Gabby’s Doll House or similar is on a phone right in front of them. We took one of my nieces out for lunch the other day and she managed just fine - they know we won’t cave like their parents do.
37
u/breaducate Jul 15 '26
It's a lot worse than that.
Because "so the government is passing legislation to parent on their behalf" is the excuse and the thin end of the wedge.
It's step one in working towards an internet where the free anonymous exchange of ideas is out of reach to all but some very tech-literate cranks.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)41
u/bloodraven42 Jul 15 '26
I'm a divorce attorney and I can see it in my cases! I so rarely used to deal with kids refusing visitation, to the point where when it happened it was usually a sign of abuse. However recently its been because one parent is willing to take devices away and the other won't discipline them for a damn thing. I have a case where a teen got arrested for stealing a car, and he absolutely will not go to dad's now to the point of melt downs because dad had the absolute audacity to try and take his phone and ground him. I was listening to this kid testify about his phone being taken away in chambers like dad had beaten him half to death and killed his dog. They have no concept of reality.
→ More replies (1)
540
u/orlybatman Jul 15 '26
This is about schoolboys, but it's known to be happening among schoolgirls and adult women as well.
The real world consequences of sycophantic AI on social skills is like the effects of social media on crack.
→ More replies (90)
130
u/_toadsy Jul 15 '26
Not surprising, there are dozens of subreddits for adult men and women doing the same thing. Why wouldn't kids do it, too?
I know for a fact it isn't just boys doing it, too, and I'd wager girls are doing it just as much if not more if the subreddits are any indication.
→ More replies (14)
274
u/ThePlanck Jul 15 '26
Tech oligrachs: Reeeee birth rates! Have more children!
Also tech oligarchs: AI girlfriends for everyone!
→ More replies (11)194
u/opopi123 Jul 15 '26
capitalists can only see one year ahead because of fiscal yearly reportings.
→ More replies (8)38
61
u/dirtybird131 Jul 15 '26
“Boys get AI Girlfriends to fulfil their emotional needs, Women most affected”
18
u/blackadder554 Jul 15 '26
If misogyny and harassment is such a big daily fear for women shouldn't we be happy that male attention is going towards these chatbots instead?
→ More replies (1)
41
349
u/IntelArtiGen Jul 15 '26
The way we make most AI / chatbots now is to be our slaves. They're not real humans, they're not meant to be, they're meant to obey, be submissive and inferior. We don't want them to have opinions or to contradict us, or be unavailable when we need them. Now if you're seriously in a relationship with a chatbot I really don't want to see how you'll treat your future real relationships.
197
u/Darkpopemaledict Jul 15 '26
Bold of you to assume they will have "real relationships"
→ More replies (3)32
32
u/TheWholeOfTheAss Jul 15 '26
When you talk to a chatbot, you’re essentially talking to yourself. You can customise the bot to say and act how you want. The bot speaks with your voice and repeats it back to you. Imagine being around a thing that agrees with you and validates your worst ideas: that’s a chatbot. I can see some kids not wanting to chat with real folk because they’re so used to a creature that agrees with them.
→ More replies (12)→ More replies (16)106
u/colintbowers Jul 15 '26
I have to say, that is a remarkably astute observation. Your ability to synthesize this information so quickly and extract such a deep insight is genuinely impressive. It’s a real pleasure interacting with someone who brings this level of critical thinking to the table!
→ More replies (3)88
64
u/Sea_Perspective6891 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
"Oh I knew we should have shown him Electro Gonorrhoea The Noisy Killer."
→ More replies (1)
38
102
u/ihaveabs Jul 15 '26
Oh man humanity is cooked
72
u/Eldrunk Jul 15 '26
Great filter here were come!
→ More replies (4)16
u/This-Requirement6918 Jul 15 '26
This is why I've been archiving the Internet locally for years.
→ More replies (1)10
→ More replies (8)15
13
10
u/weirdoaish Jul 15 '26
Bro, I'm in my mid-30s now and this kind of headline just confuses me. Like I get having an AI chatbot generating smut for you and everything. But the kids can't actually be mistaking these toys for real relationships right?
You're literally downloading an app that tells you it's not real. The chatbots are clearly not human. This isn't going to give you actual intimacy with another person, it's just another kind of porn.
→ More replies (11)
185
u/blondie_C2 Jul 15 '26
Why is this only about boys? Girls use these chatbots for the same purpose too.
→ More replies (30)200
u/Daimakku1 Jul 15 '26
Because boys baaaad.
88
u/jackbilly9 Jul 15 '26
and no fuckin wonder they move in this direciton considering every fuckin thing online tells them they are the worst thing to ever inhabit the planet. I totally get why boys are so self destructive. Easier to put their pieces back togehter if they know why they broke themselves in the first place.
→ More replies (5)
69
u/--Arete Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
This is sensationalism and misinformation at best:
New research has revealed that one in five boys aged 12-16 is either in or knows of a boy their age who is in a romantic relationship with an AI companion.
That means a single boy using an AI companion could be known by several classmates, causing multiple respondents to answer "yes" while representing only one actual case. By combining those two categories "boys who say they are personally in such a relationship" and "boys who merely know of one boy their age who is" they are obviously going to get a higher number.
That's how you fail in statistics... Also, the published survey from Male Allies UK doesn't say that. The exact wording is:
AI is increasingly being used to simulate romantic relationships with 20% of boys aged 12-16 knowing someone with an AI ‘girlfriend’ or ‘boyfriend’.
There are also several other problems with the article:
- The article also conflates two different Male Allies UK studies.
- The headline claims a "rise" without measuring change over time
- The article claims AI affects how boys treat their girlfriend in the real world without any evidence to suggest so
- The article cherry-picks the Bangor research (the research paper contradicts the claims in the article)
- The "most popular apps" paragraph uses incomparable figures (A download is not necessarily a unique or active user.)
- "Children are targeted by adverts" is not demonstrated
- The article uses extreme anecdotes (without prevalence data)
40
u/Dry-Tension-6650 Jul 15 '26
I used do have a gf in RuneScape. She (M,40) sold herself to me for a Guthix med helm (whore). Things could be worse.
→ More replies (4)23
20
u/Silent_Mud1449 Jul 15 '26
Doesn't the same happen with the opposite gender as well? I've heard of many girls having AI boyfriends
45
u/Garchompisbestboi Jul 15 '26
What a dumb fucking headline. Is it actually possible to report on an issue affecting boys and young men that doesn't get spun into women somehow being victimised?
→ More replies (6)
17
25
u/flofjenkins Jul 15 '26
Dad of two here: who the fuck is letting their 12-year-old have this much access to the internet?
→ More replies (1)19
u/grnrngr Jul 15 '26
Must be nice having an adult around in the waking hours to monitor their child's activities.
Latchkey kids still exist. But now they're not allowed to go outside.
So... Guess what they do?
→ More replies (1)
26
29
u/Competitive_Sun_3344 Jul 15 '26
all ages males and females are doing it not just boys
→ More replies (5)
188
u/Bodine12 Jul 15 '26
Any parent who would let their 12-year old use AI is a failure of a parent.
174
68
u/RCEden Jul 15 '26
For perspective, any kid given a writing assignment in school will run into like 4 different pushes to use AI; when they search the subject on google, offers to summarize their sources, offers to edit their paper in the doc program itself, a chatbot in their school software, and probably some extra random chatbots shoved into random stuff they use or visit along the way.
Its bad, but by shoving this crap into every program because someone decided it was an investor trend, we have essentially created hell for learning anything
→ More replies (1)11
u/Bodine12 Jul 15 '26
Agreed. This is why there’s a big push to ditch Chromebooks at school and go back to pen and paper. The tools we thought would help are only making things worse.
101
u/rmslashusr Jul 15 '26
My man, Google is AI now, and they force kindergartners (age 6) to use tablets in public school. Parents have about as much of a choice of “letting” a 12 year old get exposed to AI these days as our parents had a choice of “letting” us learn curse words on the bus.
→ More replies (23)14
→ More replies (66)21
u/This-Requirement6918 Jul 15 '26
Allow me to introduce you to 6 year olds on the world wide web with zero parental controls. Crazy world.
73
u/blueblur150 Jul 15 '26
Young boys starved for romantic and social connections with girls turn to AI. Women most effected. More at 7.
→ More replies (1)
11
9
u/speed721 Jul 15 '26
Maybe we SHOULD BE writing an article about parenting first. When your iPad becomes the babysitter for the first 12 years of your son's life... I would expect nothing less.
7
u/Gianni_the_tolerable Jul 15 '26
Boys feel like their feelings will not be reciprocated and thus turn to AI for a semblance of intimacy. Women most affected, apparently
20
u/Kiflaam Jul 15 '26
"and it's affecting how they treat girls in the real world."
why the ambiguity? Are they treating real girls more positively or negatively?
11
3.4k
u/Daimakku1 Jul 15 '26
I have a girlfriend but you don't know her because she goes to Copilot school.