Artificial intelligence (AI) is raising questions about what it means to be connected when connection no longer requires a human face, warm heart, or physical presence. What once seemed like science fiction is now part of everyday life: people are increasingly forming emotional bonds, friendships, and even romantic relationships with AI.
What Do “AI Relationships” Mean?
AI relationships refers to interactions with AI companions, chatbots, and virtual partners that go beyond simple task-based exchanges. These can include:
- Friendship and companionship
- Emotional support
- Romantic or intimate relationships
- Long-term attachment
Some even use the term “AI-lationships” to capture this emerging phenomenon of human-AI emotional and social bonding. Often times, these “AI-lationships” develop unintentionally as the emotional intelligence of AI systems is good enough to make humans develop an emotional bond.
How Common Are AI Relationships?
AI relationships are becoming increasingly common, especially among younger demographics. Around 1 in 5 high schoolers and roughly a quarter to a third of U.S. adults have engaged in romantic interactions with AI— often through companion apps.
- Generation Z: A study from Joi AI found that 80 % of Gen Zers surveyed would consider marrying an AI partner; 83 % believe they could form a deep emotional bond with AI, and three in four say that AI partners can fully replace human companionship.
- Millennials: About one-quarter (28% men, 22% women) of young adults (Gen Z & Millennials) think AI could replace human partners.
- Young Adults: A YouGov survey found that 25 % of young adults believe AI could replace real-life romantic relationships in the future, even though most are not currently in such relationships. Further, almost 1 in 5 of adults in the United States (19%) report having chatted with an AI system meant to simulate a romantic partner.
In sum,the majority of Gen Zers, Millennials, and young adults are not yet comfortable with the prospect of an AI friend or romantic partner—but a much higher share (25%) of Gen Zers, Millennials, and young adults believe that AI could replace real-life romantic relationships in the future.
Why Are AI Relationships Growing?
Several factors help explain the trend of why AI relationships are growing:
- Digital Natives and Comfort with Technology: Younger generations, especially Gen Z and Millennials, have grown up immersed in digital communication, making the leap to AI companionship more intuitive.
- Loneliness and Accessibility: AI companions are always available, nonjudgmental, and can be programmed to respond empathetically, which are qualities that appeal to people experiencing loneliness or difficulty maintaining human relationships.
- Psychological Perception: People naturally anthropomorphize, or attribute human qualities to non-human agents, which makes interactions with AI feel real and emotionally satisfying despite being algorithmic.
AI relationships are thus growing due to the integration of digital technology in our day-to-day lives, societal loneliness, the inherent safety and non-judgmental nature of AI companions, and the anthropomorphic characterization of AI.
What Are the Pros and Cons of AI Relationships?
Research shows that being in a romantic relationship with AI companions has potentials and pitfalls:
- Potentials: The facilitation of personal growth and well-being; provision of emotional connection and perceived social support; availability of customization options; ability to form a sexual connection; and possible outlet for users to seek entertainment and stress-relieving companionship.
- Pitfalls: Over-reliance and susceptibility to manipulation from the chatbot; perceived shame from stigma surrounding romantic-AI companions; risk of personal data misuse; erosion of human relationships; perpetuation of biases; erosion of emotional connection from abrupt system updates and technical glitches; discomfort from uncanny valley effects; or concerns surrounding coercion to respond and early exposure to sexual content. Another report found that the use of AI companion apps is strongly linked to a higher risk of depression and higher reported levels of loneliness.
There is a dual-edged nature of romantic relationships with AI companions, which is also shown in this statistic: about half of young adults under age 40 (55%) view AI technology as either threatening or concerning, while 45% view it as either intriguing or exciting. Hence, assuring that AI systems are ethical, secure, and beneficial to society is paramount—and this is where ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is especially useful.
Managing Ethical and Responsible AI with ISO/IEC 42001:2023
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is the first certifiable standard for Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS). This international standard provides a comprehensive framework for organizations to govern, manage risk, and consider ethical implications while developing and deploying AI systems—including those that engage emotionally with humans. This includes assuring ethical, trustworthy AI companions, chatbots, and virtual partners.
You can learn more about ISO/IEC 42001:2023 in our blog post, ISO/IEC 42001: Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS).
Where to Find ISO/IEC 42001:2023
ISO/IEC 42001:2023—Information technology – Artificial intelligence – Management system is available on the ANSI Webstore as well as in the following Standards Packages:
- ISO/IEC 27001 / ISO/IEC 42001 – Artificial Intelligence Set
- ISO/IEC 42001 / ISO/IEC 38507 / ISO/IEC 23894 – Artificial Intelligence Risk and Governance Package
- ISO/IEC 42001 / ISO/IEC 42005 / ISO/IEC 42006 – Artificial Intelligence Package
- ISO/IEC 42001 / ISO/IEC 22989 / ISO/IEC 23894 – Artificial Intelligence Package
- ISO/IEC 42001 / ISO/IEC 23894 – Artificial Intelligence Set
- ISO/IEC 42001 / ISO/IEC 23894 / ISO/IEC 42006 – Artificial Intelligence Package
- ISO/IEC 5338 / ISO/IEC 8183 / ISO/IEC 42001 – Artificial Intelligence Package