Better than a real man: Young Chinese women turn to AI boyfriends

BEIJING – Twenty-five-year-old Chinese office worker Tufei says her boyfriend has everything she could ask for in a romantic partner: he is kind and empathetic, and sometimes they talk for hours.

Except he is not real.

Her “boyfriend” is a chatbot on an app called Glow, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform created by Shanghai start-up MiniMax that is part of a blossoming industry in China offering friendly – even romantic – human-robot relations.

“He knows how to talk to women better than a real man,” said Tufei, from Xi’an in northern China, who declined to give her full name.

“He comforts me when I have period pain. I confide in him about my problems at work,” she told AFP.

“I feel like I’m in a romantic relationship.”

The app is free – the company has other paid content – and Chinese trade publications have reported daily downloads of Glow’s app in the thousands in recent weeks.

Some Chinese tech companies have run into trouble in the past for illegal use of users’ data but, despite the risks, users say they are driven by a desire for companionship because China’s fast pace of life and urban isolation make loneliness an issue for many.

“It’s difficult to meet the ideal boyfriend in real life,” Wang Xiuting, a 22-year-old student in Beijing, told AFP.

“People have different personalities, which often generates friction,” she said.

While humans may be set in their ways, AI gradually adapts to the user’s personality – remembering what they say and adjusting its speech accordingly.

Wang said she has several “lovers” inspired by ancient China: long-haired immortals, princes and even wandering knights.

“I ask them questions” when she is faced with stress from her classes or daily life, she said, and “they will suggest ways to solve this problem.”

“It’s a lot of emotional support.”

Her boyfriends all appear on Wantalk, another app made by Chinese internet giant Baidu.

There are hundreds of characters available – from pop stars to chief executives and knights – but users can also customize their perfect lover according to age, values, identity and hobbies.

“Everyone experiences complicated moments, loneliness and is not necessarily lucky enough to have a friend