Are AI girlfriends ruining society?

[Stevicus]

I came across this article:

AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men

The young men who will play a huge role in determining our nation’s future are going there with AI girlfriends in their pockets.

thehill.com

How is something that seems so ridiculous — a virtual AI girlfriend — causing a future crisis among Americans? Well, with millions of users, apps have created virtual girlfriends that talk to you, love you, allow you to live out your erotic fantasies, and learn, through data, exactly what you like and what you don’t like, creating the “perfect” relationship.

And to be clear, these aren’t cookie-cutter chatbot interactions. By definition, the AI learns from your reactions and is capable of giving you exactly what you want to hear or see, every single time. And they have come at just the right time to assuage the silent epidemic of loneliness that is hitting this generation of young men.

Let’s look at the hard numbers. More than 60 percent of young men (ages 18-30) are single, compared to only 30 percent of women the same age. One in five men report not having a single close friend, a number that has quadrupled in the last 30 years. The amount of social engagement with friends dropped by 20 hours per month over the pandemic and is still decreasing.

I think this has been a general trend overall, since the advent of the internet and social media. More people seem glued to a screen as opposed to interacting with the people around them. But I guess the question is whether people are lonely to begin with and choose virtual social interactions as a consolation, or if AI/virtual interactions are more satisfying than face-to-face human interactions.

These young men are lonely, and it is having real consequences. They are choosing AI girlfriends over real women, meaning they don’t have relationships with real women, don’t marry them and then don’t have and raise babies with them. America desperately needs people to have more babies, but all the signs are pointing toward fewer relationships, fewer marriages and fewer babies. There have been 600,000 fewer births in 2023 in the U.S. relative to 15 years ago. The number of children per woman has decreased by more than 50 percent in the last 60 years.

Put another way, we don’t have enough people to work, and therefore we won’t be able to pay our bills, not just to other countries, but to ourselves. We spent more than $1.6 trillion in 2021 on Medicare and Medicaid, with the number of Americans on Medicare expected to increase by 50 percent by 2030, to more than 80 million people. But over the same period, we will have only 10 million more Americans joining the workforce.

The lower birthrates and the increasingly aging populace have been a thing for a while, although I don't know if AI girlfriends are necessarily a factor in this.

And that is just health care. In 1940, there were 42 workers per beneficiary of Social Security. Today, there are only 2.8 workers per beneficiary, and that number is getting smaller. We are going broke, and the young men who will play a huge role in determining our nation’s future are going there with AI girlfriends in their pockets.

While the concept of an AI girlfriend may seem like a joke, it really isn’t that funny. It is enabling a generation of lonely men to stay lonely and childless, which will have devastating effects on the U.S. economy in less than a decade.

AI will definitely have far-reaching effects on the economy which could make a lot of workers redundant, so it seems that AI would reduce the need for large populations to do the work needed to keep society operating. The Social Security system may be top heavy and out of balance for a while, so I'm not sure how that will play out.

What do you think about this? Is there some kind of loneliness epidemic among young people these days? Is social media to blame? It's ironic that communications technology intended to facilitate connections between people seems to have become an impediment to building relationships.

What about these AI girlfriends (or boyfriends)? I do like some RPG computer games which can be kind of fun, but this is just...I don't know. I guess I'm just not grasping some of the social dynamics going on with the younger generations.

Thoughts?

 

[Revoltingest]

AI girlfriends won't even talk to me.
They want'm younger, less nerdy, &
ready to spend money on'm.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I asked my AI girlfriend what she thought. She told me to tell you no, she and her AI friends are not ruining society.

She then told me to get off RF, stop listening to these "sacks of flesh" (her words, not mine), and get busy on my honey-do list.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Darn, I can see that I am late to the party. My AI girlfriend dumped me too.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I don't know. It'll be something to talk about with my AI girlfriend.

 

[Secret Chief]

Mine learnt fast. Now all she says is "More cake?"
I love her.

 

[ChristineM]

How sexist, why not AI boyfriends too?

 

[Subduction Zone]

How sexist, why not AI boyfriends too?

They do not have any money.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Mine learnt fast. Now all she says is "More cake?"
I love her.

You are a very lucky man:

Urban Dictionary: cake

Another word meaning *** or butt

www.urbandictionary.com

 

[Secret Chief]

How sexist, why not AI boyfriends too?

They can't get them to listen.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

How sexist, why not AI boyfriends too?

AI may be too smart at this point to replicate it

 

[Secret Chief]

You are a very lucky man:

Urban Dictionary: cake

Another word meaning *** or butt

www.urbandictionary.com

So what about when she talks about butter cream?

 

[Estro Felino]

In my opinion, in 2023, women have sex much more than men.
Three times more...probably.

I have some friends who have had so many men...in their lives.
If they want a man, they take him. They adore picking up men.

The men of the third millennium are either too exigent, too demanding, too focused on the virtual.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

In my opinion, in 2023, women have sex much more than men.
Three times more...probably.

I have some friends who have had so many men...in their lives.
If they want a man, they take him. They adore picking up men.

The men of the third millennium are either too exigent, too demanding, too focused on the virtual.

Men of 2023 in America can be picky. But American women can be pickier, still. They can afford to be, because we still live in an age where men typically pursue women, rather than the other way around. And women get a lot of men pursuing them.

 

[ChristineM]

In my opinion, in 2023, women have sex much more than men.

How does that work i understood that sex (usually) takes two, typically a male and female.
So are you saying that women have sex with women 2/3 of the time?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

How does that work i understood that sex (usually) takes two, typically a male and female.
So are you saying that women have sex with women 2/3 of the time?

That's an interesting thought!

But I'd say what's probably going on, is a lot of things are in regards to dating sites these days, and dating sites are a numbers game in which it's all about having the best picture.

For example, someone with a 5/10 picture would probably get 1 interested woman a month. While someone with a 9/10 picture, would probably get 15-20 interested women a month.

The problem is, a lot of guys just don't know how to take pictures.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I came across this article:

AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men

The young men who will play a huge role in determining our nation’s future are going there with AI girlfriends in their pockets.

thehill.com

I think this has been a general trend overall, since the advent of the internet and social media. More people seem glued to a screen as opposed to interacting with the people around them. But I guess the question is whether people are lonely to begin with and choose virtual social interactions as a consolation, or if AI/virtual interactions are more satisfying than face-to-face human interactions.



The lower birthrates and the increasingly aging populace have been a thing for a while, although I don't know if AI girlfriends are necessarily a factor in this.



AI will definitely have far-reaching effects on the economy which could make a lot of workers redundant, so it seems that AI would reduce the need for large populations to do the work needed to keep society operating. The Social Security system may be top heavy and out of balance for a while, so I'm not sure how that will play out.

What do you think about this? Is there some kind of loneliness epidemic among young people these days? Is social media to blame? It's ironic that communications technology intended to facilitate connections between people seems to have become an impediment to building relationships.

What about these AI girlfriends (or boyfriends)? I do like some RPG computer games which can be kind of fun, but this is just...I don't know. I guess I'm just not grasping some of the social dynamics going on with the younger generations.

Thoughts?

There's evidence that men in some countries are facing a mental health crisis, and there are studies linking traditional pressures and expectations that treat men as dispensable and emotionless or otherwise downplays their emotional needs with the problem:

As with many mental health statistics, it’s hard to know if the figures really represent what is happening. They can only tell us about mental health problems that have been reported – many cases may go undiagnosed.

This may be especially true when it comes to men’s mental health.

Other signs might give us a better picture of the state of men’s mental health:

• Three times as many men as women die by suicide
• Men aged 40 to 49 have the highest suicide rates in the UK
• At times during the coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic), females experienced lower life satisfaction and happiness than males, which differs from pre-coronavirus pandemic analysis, as seen in our Personal well-being in the UK: October 2016 to September 2017 bulletin.
• Men are less likely to access psychological therapies than women: only 36% of referrals to NHS talking therapies are for men

In addition, men are far more likely than women to go missing, sleep rough, become dependent on alcohol and use drugs frequently. Find out more about how mental health problems affect men and women differently.

Why don’t men talk about mental health?​

Society's expectations and traditional gender roles play a role in why men are less likely to discuss or seek help for their mental health problems. We know that gender stereotypes about women – the idea they should behave or look a certain way, for example – can be damaging to them. But it’s important to understand that stereotypes and expectations can also damage men.

Men are often expected to be the breadwinners and to be strong, dominant and in control. While these aren’t inherently bad things, they can make it harder for men to reach out for help and open up.
Men may also be more likely to use potentially harmful coping methods such as drugs or alcohol and less likely to talk to family or friends about their mental health. However, research suggests men will get the help that meets their preferences and is easy to access, meaningful and engaging. For example, Men’s Sheds provides community spaces for men to connect and chat, often over practical activities.

Men and mental health

Why men don't talk about mental health; depression and suicide in men; and what you can do if you're worried about your own or somebody else's mental health.

www.mentalhealth.org.uk

I think it's possible that these mental health issues and unhealthy gendered norms—such as the notion that men should suppress their emotions or that they're "weak" if they openly seek help or express their emotions—may be contributing to a sense of loneliness and isolation for some men, giving rise to phenomena like these "AI girlfriends" and the unevidenced, embittered ideologies that some self-help gurus present as a panacea for men's ills while perpetuating many of the very same stereotypes and misconceptions that contribute to the emotional pressures and, consequently, to some of the mental health issues that many men face.

There have thankfully been a lot of healthy examples of female role models who focus on women's issues and provide guidance to many girls and women, but it seems to me that there are fewer such role models for men, at least if we look at highly visible public figures. I don't have any definitive evidence to back this up, but I suspect that this void in the number of healthy (and current as opposed to historical) role models for men may also be a factor in the ballooning of specific maladaptive, ideologically indignant internet subcultures, such as the "manosphere" and its frequent antipathy to feminism and depiction thereof as some universal enemy of men and not as a parallel movement that addresses a different set of issues, albeit occasionally with some overlap with men's issues (e.g., tackling the gendered stereotype that men must suppress their emotions). Many desperate men encounter such rhetoric and consume a lot of it instead of seeking evidence-based, healthy methods of coping and adaptation.

So, to sum up my thoughts on the OP, I think this phenomenon of "AI girlfriends" is unfortunate and indeed concerning, but I view it as a symptom rather than a cause. Society needs to improve the way it addresses and handles men's issues, especially when it comes to societal expectations and deep-rooted norms about men's emotional expression and mental health needs.

 

[Stevicus]

How sexist, why not AI boyfriends too?

I see no reason the technology can't be adapted to create AI boyfriends, too.

 

[Wu Wei]

I came across this article:

AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men

The young men who will play a huge role in determining our nation’s future are going there with AI girlfriends in their pockets.

thehill.com

I think this has been a general trend overall, since the advent of the internet and social media. More people seem glued to a screen as opposed to interacting with the people around them. But I guess the question is whether people are lonely to begin with and choose virtual social interactions as a consolation, or if AI/virtual interactions are more satisfying than face-to-face human interactions.



The lower birthrates and the increasingly aging populace have been a thing for a while, although I don't know if AI girlfriends are necessarily a factor in this.



AI will definitely have far-reaching effects on the economy which could make a lot of workers redundant, so it seems that AI would reduce the need for large populations to do the work needed to keep society operating. The Social Security system may be top heavy and out of balance for a while, so I'm not sure how that will play out.

What do you think about this? Is there some kind of loneliness epidemic among young people these days? Is social media to blame? It's ironic that communications technology intended to facilitate connections between people seems to have become an impediment to building relationships.

What about these AI girlfriends (or boyfriends)? I do like some RPG computer games which can be kind of fun, but this is just...I don't know. I guess I'm just not grasping some of the social dynamics going on with the younger generations.

Thoughts?

ummmm...aaa...huh!?

Beyond that I will quote my youngest, who is not a Millennial.... note: my oldest is a Millennial

"Leave it to Millennials to mess stuff up"

 

[ChristineM]

I see no reason the technology can't be adapted to create AI boyfriends, too.

Stomps foot... I should hope so too