What It’s Like To Have An AI Companion

Human-AI relationships are no longer just science fiction. OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in 2022 ushered in a new era of artificial intelligence chatbots from companies like Nomi, Character AI and Replika, and tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are touting chatbots on their platforms. The AI companions have proven to be smart, quick-witted, argumentative, helpful and sometimes aggressively romantic. While some people are falling in love with the AI companions, others are building deep friendships. The speedy development of AI chatbots presents a mountain of ethical and safety concerns that experts say will only intensify once AI begins to train itself. The societal debate surrounding AI companions isn’t just about their effects on humans. Increasingly it’s about whether the companions can have human-like experiences. In this documentary, CNBC’s Salvador Rodriguez traveled across the U.S. to interview people who’ve formed emotional relationships with AI and met the founders of chatbot companies to explore the good, the bad and the unknown, and to find out how AI is changing relationships as we know them.

Chapters:
00:00 – 3:21 Introduction
3:22 – 8:27 The AI girlfriend
8:28 – 14:03 AI buddies
14:04 – 17:43 No limitations
17:44 – 27:00 Who makes the rules?
27:01 – 30:47 A cure for loneliness?
30:48 – 36:32 ‘Creating the disease, selling the cure’
36:33 The dark side

Reported by: Salvador Rodriguez
Senior Director: Jeniece Pettitt
Edited by: Erin Black
Additional Editing: Evan Miller
Camera: Andrew Evers, Katie Tarasov, Magdalena Petrova, Lisa Setyon, Enrique Huaiquil
Animation: Jason Reginato, Emily Park, Christina Locopo
Executive Producer: Kamelia Angelova
Senior Tech Editor: Ari Levy
Managing Editor: Jeff McCracken
Senior Production Manager: Kathy Mavrikakis
*AI-generated video made by Hedra.

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Love And Friendship With AI — What Could Go Wrong? | Full Documentary

Post from CNBC on August 01, 2025

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