A recent survey conducted by a major IT security provider has revealed that around one in four Germans under the age of 30 can imagine having sex with an AI. Many of them would even be willing to enter into a relationship with artificial intelligence. Kaspersky surveyed 1,000 Germans between the ages of 16 and 30 about their perception and use of devices or systems with artificial intelligence (AI). The survey results show that most Germans are concerned about their privacy on the internet, as more social interactions now take place online. The company also wanted to find out how the shift of social interactions to the internet – accelerated by the recent global coronavirus pandemic – affects our love lives.
The results are surprising, as around 26 percent of respondents said they could imagine falling in love with an AI program tailored to their needs. According to the survey, 25 percent of respondents consider an intimate relationship with a human-like AI to be conceivable, with the proportion of men at 32 percent higher than that of women (18 percent). In addition, almost a third (30 percent) believe that AI-supported computer algorithms will be useful in finding perfect human relationships. Also, 29 percent of respondents believe they will have better chances on partner portals with AI support, and 27 percent believe that relationships that have come about with AI support will last longer.
Interestingly, the survey also reveals other applications that respondents can imagine for AI in love. For example, 29 percent of respondents can imagine uploading a former or deceased partner to the cloud, “preserving” them as AI and continuing to love them. Men (34 percent) are more open to this idea than women (23 percent). As AI relationships are still a social fringe phenomenon, there are few studies on this topic. Kaspersky believes that this needs to change and wants to encourage a dialogue about the potential cultural impacts of such a new form of relationship.
Many experts predict that people will fall in love with robots and marry them in the future. In fact, a Japanese man has already married a hologram, a radio host is collecting donations to create an android of his ex-girlfriend, and the first sex robots with rudimentary artificial intelligence are already available on the market.
