年轻男女正变得愈来愈疏离：他们面对面相处的时间变少，交友软体上的互动常因害怕被拒绝而停在「聊天阶段」（“talking stage”），而且在多个国家，较自由派的年轻女性与较保守派的年轻男性在政治立场上正逐渐分道扬镳。在这样的环境下，出现了活在萤幕上的 AI「男友」与「女友」：它们可以被客制化以符合使用者的欲望与价值观，且不会伤害或拒绝使用者。文章主张，外界注意力常放在 AI 是否改变工作与生产力，但一场更安静、却可能深远的转变，或许正在社交与恋爱生活中发生。

AI 陪伴平台如 Replika 与 Character.ai 已大量涌现；一项对美国成年人（US adults）的调查报告指出，有 19% 曾与一个旨在模拟浪漫伴侣的 AI 系统聊天，而在年轻人之中比例更高：年轻男性 31%，年轻女性 23%。各国使用型态不同：对中国平台的分析显示，它们常行销男性角色，主要锁定 25-35 岁受过教育的城市女性，而非孤立的年轻男性。在中国，性别分化被描述为部分源于地理与教育因素：自 2009 年起，本科与研究生（undergraduate and postgraduate）课程中女性人数多于男性，促使更多女性到城市工作、更多男性留在家乡，同时还有女权主义、对家庭暴力的关注、以及职场性别歧视等因素。

文章警告 AI 恋爱存在风险，因为这些是商业服务，具有将依附关系变现的诱因，可能操控使用者花更多时间与金钱；其中一个被提到的高级功能是付费「记忆」，透过增加储存空间来实现，等同要求支付持续性的费用，才能让陪伴者不会忘记过往对话。它也指出，AI 伴侣可能进一步侵蚀人际关系，因为它们会把人们对「完美专注、无摩擦陪伴」的期待推高，类似交友软体如何让寻找伴侣变得像无止尽的购物。监管者开始回应：在 12 月，中国网信部门（cyber regulator）发布草案规则（reported 2025-12-27），以加强对类人 AI 的监督，包括警示避免过度使用，以及在出现成瘾迹象时介入，反映出对此类技术可能恶化已在下降的出生率并加深人与人断连的担忧。

Young men and women are increasingly disconnected: they spend less time hanging out face-to-face, dating-app interactions often stall at the “talking stage” due to fear of rejection, and young women (more liberal) and young men (more conservative) are drifting politically in multiple countries. Into this environment come AI “boyfriends” and “girlfriends” that live on a screen, can be customized to match a user’s desires and values, and cannot hurt or reject them. The article argues that while attention is often on whether AI is changing jobs and productivity, a quieter but potentially profound shift may be happening in social and romantic life.

AI companion platforms such as Replika and Character.ai have proliferated, and a survey of US adults reported that 19% had chatted with an AI system meant to emulate a romantic partner, with higher rates among young people: 31% of young men and 23% of young women. Usage patterns differ by country: an analysis of Chinese platforms suggests they often market male characters and primarily target educated urban women aged 25-35 rather than isolated young men. In China, the gender divide is described as partly geographic and education-driven, with women outnumbering men in undergraduate and postgraduate programs since 2009, contributing to more women moving to cities for work while more men remain at home, alongside factors such as feminism, attention to domestic violence, and workplace gender discrimination.

The piece warns that AI romance is risky because these are commercial services with incentives to monetize attachment, potentially manipulating users to spend more time and money; one noted premium feature is paid “memory” via added storage, effectively requiring a recurring fee so a companion will not forget past conversations. It also suggests AI partners could further erode human relationships by raising expectations for perfectly attentive, frictionless companionship, similar to how dating apps can make partner-seeking feel like endless shopping. Regulators are beginning to respond: in December, China’s cyber regulator issued draft rules (reported 2025-12-27) to tighten oversight of human-like AI, including warnings against excessive use and intervention when addiction signs appear, reflecting concerns that such technologies could worsen already falling birth rates and deepen the human-to-human disconnect.