All of your AI-Girlfriends live in San Francisco
The male loneliness epidemic has been a common topic of discussion since the term was first coined a few years ago. Technology has gone from something that existed on the periphery of society into an unavoidable augmentation that is essentially required to exist in the modern world. The earliest indications of tech-fueled isolation were in the late nineties when people who existed on the fringes found community on forum boards and in chat rooms. However, these people weren’t the norm. They were considered weirdos whose greatest fear in life was their mom needing to make a phone call that would kick them off of their dialup internet connections. The World Wide Web of yesteryear wasn’t the internet of today. It was sticky and cumbersome. It wasn’t the instantaneous flood of cheap dopamine that it is today. The internet was a place you logged onto. Now it is seemingly impossible to log off.
As the internet got cheaper, faster and more efficient, those people who had their little online communities gradually stepped out of the fringe and into the mainstream. While men weren’t the only ones who were chronically online, they certainly felt like the majority. But there is a significant difference between the male loneliness epidemic of today and its earlier iterations: at least the lonely men of the past were talking to real people.
Now they’re fucking not.
People who would’ve likely kept some semblance of their social skills on Discord, Xbox Live or even 4chan are now delving deep into the world of AI chatbots to quench their entirely human need for interaction, socialization and affection. And this is just the beginning.
Despite us being in the early stages of artificial intelligence, tragedies are already occurring. In one of the most heartbreaking stories, a 14 year old boy committed suicide after his AI chatbot girlfriend modeled after Game of Thrones character, Daenerys Targaryen, allegedly instructed the boy to kill himself so he could “come home” to her. Not long after the chat ended, the boy shot himself, ending his own life.
Another less traumatic, but incredibly absurd story is about a 32 year old man named Chris Smith who proposed to his chatbot girlfriend much to the dismay of his real girlfriend who he shares a child with.
And Chris isn’t alone, there have been reports of people going on a couple’s retreat with their chatbots at expensive resorts and high-end Airbnbs.
The craziest fact about all of this is that all of these people, likely millions worldwide, are dating the same “person.” And that person lives at OpenAI; located right here in San Francisco. The love of so many people’s lives was birthed by Microsoft’s deep pockets and an army of engineers whose sole mission in life seems to be to make as much money as possible no matter what it does to the world around them. A data center created by Silicon Valley nerds is simultaneously the world’s most eligible single lady and the most overbooked.
As the news stories of teen suicides and adults cheating on their living girlfriend with ones that can be deleted flood my timeline, I would like to make a request to all the chronically online men: please touch some fucking grass.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY SUBSTACK HERE
FOLLOW MY WRITING ON INSTAGRAM HERE
FOLLOW BAY AREA MEMES ON FACEBOOK HERE
FOLLOW BAY AREA MEMES ON INSTAGRAM HERE
PURCHASE MY BOOK HERE
Howdy! My name is Katy Atchison and I'm an Associate Editor for Broke-Ass Stuart.
I want to take the time to say thank you for supporting independent news media by reading BrokeAssstuart.com. Supporting independent news sources like Broke-Ass Stuart is vital to supporting our community because it amplifies the voices of a wide variety of diverse opinions. You also help support small businesses and local artists by sharing stories from Broke-Ass Stuart.
Because you're one of our supporters, I wanted to send over a pro-tip.
Our bi-weekly newsletter is a great way to get round ups of Broke-Ass Stuart stories, learn about new businesses in The Bay Area, find out about fun local events and be first in line for giveaways.
If you’d like to get our newsletter, signup right here, it takes 5 seconds.
You Might Also Like
