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At the start of my research, I explored how the current generation’s perception of love and intimacy is shaped and often distorted by media portrayals, impacting personal relationships. I focused on the role of social media, examining phenomena like doomscrolling, dating apps, and their effects on mental health and self-esteem. This led me to investigate the loneliness epidemic and its exploitation by corporations, which have created dystopian solutions to capitalise on this issue. For example, I looked at East Asia’s rental agencies, where individuals can rent romantic partners or even family members at an hourly rate—a practice both fascinating and deeply unsettling.

Delving deeper, I traced the roots of artificial companionship back to the first AI chatbot, Eliza, and discovered its prevalence in literature and film. Films like Her, Bladerunner 2046, and Matrix Resurrections offered rich insights, as did literary references such as Neuromancer by William Gibson and Crash by J.G. Ballard, which I plan to explore further. These investigations raised questions about the repercussions of humanity’s reliance on technology, particularly in relationships. From TikTok live-streaming to Reddit communities centred around ASMR and romantic chatbots, I examined how technology is reshaping human connection.

I also studied online friendships and relationships, noting how platforms like Reddit and WikiHow provide advice on making friends or even tracking people down—guidance that, while potentially helpful, often feels disturbing. This sparked my interest in the distinction between natural and constructed connections in contemporary culture. Are AI-driven or artificially constructed relationships of equal value to “real” ones? This question has become central to my inquiry. Moving forward, I aim to explore the societal, psychological, and relational repercussions of constructed forms of intimacy, seeking to understand how these artificial connections shape our understanding of love, companionship, and human interaction.

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The first AI Chatbot -- designed to simulate Carl Rogers and other psychotherapists

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What are the societal, psychological, and relational repercussions of constructed forms of intimacy in contemporary culture?

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What are the societal, psychological, and relational repercussions of constructed forms of intimacy in contemporary culture?

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HER (2013 Film) by Spike Jonze

Are These Feelings Real?

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We Rented A Girlfriend In China | ASIAN BOSS

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Behind Japan's Fake-Family Industry | ASIAN BOSS

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"Lonely Japanese find solace in 'rent a friend' agencies"

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In China, It’s Becoming Popular To Rent A Girlfriend For The Holidays

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This post originally appeared at Chinahush.“Don’t talk about relationship, it’s just a deal.” That is not only a dialogue in the new released Hong Kong film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, but also the description of a recent phenomenon that single men and women rent a girlfriend/boyfriend to go back home with them to celebrate Chinese Spring Festival.For young bachelors, the seven days Spring Festival means not just the reunion with families, they need to face the pressure driven by relatives to take a girlfriend/boyfriend home, especially for those who are working far away from home. However, there’s always a solution to this pressure. The internet gives them a quick way to rent a friend.To rent a girlfriend/boyfriend was not common several years ago. But this Spring Festival, many Chinese online shopping websites presented some services to have people act as boyfriends and girlfriends, meeting the demand of some young adults.The online sellers will put on their real pictures for customers to choose. After confirmation, sellers and buyer will arrange a rehearsal to make them look and act like a real couple and to prevent spilling the beans in front of family members.A famous Chinese Groupon website Meituan had a lottery game, the present of which is that the winner can rent a girlfriend/boyfriend from the staff of the website free of charge. They also provide free accommodation and transportation. According to the website, there were almost 170,000 people who participated in this game.How much to rent?Taobao.com, a Chinese eBay website has prices for this service from 200 to over 1000 RMB per day. Except from playing couples, they also provide special services such as showing love before exes, cooking, going to the grocery store, keeping company with old people and even worshiping ancestors, a very special service.But if they are asked to drink alcohol, the price is charged by the amount of drinking. For example, a Taobao seller gave his price as 50 RMB for drinking 100 ml white wine, 70 RMB for 100 ml red wine, and 20 RMB for 500 ml beer.All the renting services have a must-not-do explanation, which is that the customer must not do things like kissing and making love.This phenomenon reveals that the new generation of China has changed their thoughts to traditional culture. Some sociologists have warned young people to be very careful about doing this kind of thing which may present potential safety problems.Stories based on this phenomenon have been brought to TV in recent years since it is becoming a very attractive and controversial topic. There is idol drama in 2010 called renting a girlfriend to celebrate Spring Festival, in which two strangers made a deal to please their families and ended up becoming a real couple.This may reflect the thoughts of some customers: creating a possible opportunity to find the other half. After all, who knows what’s going to happen in the future?Although it appears to be very hot on the Internet to rent friends, there are only a small proportion of people who really rent. A survey conveyed by sina.com shows that nearly 70% people are against this. CCTV also points out that very rarely people buy the service on Taobao.com.A female netizen’s opinion is welcomed by many people that she is not going to rent friends because a relationship cannot be measured by money. “Finding a partner is for me, not for other people”, the netizen said. Even in this era in which relationships can be consumed as fast as instant food, true love is still the eternal theme of mankind, no matter what your age, gender and nationality.

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"Reflections On A New Avant-Garde"

A publication by Al Hassan Elwan and Ruba Al-Sweel

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Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before The Internet at Tate Modern

Science Gallery London

Science Museum

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Rural China matchmakers continue with age-old traditions despite woman being dressed as, acting like convincing robot in hometown visit

An influencer with five million online followers went to her hometown dressed like a humanoid robot and was still introduced to men by village matchmakers, amusing many online.

The 30-year-old woman @Dalaotian had been dressing like a humanoid for months, and wowing her followers on social media with the stilted movements of a robot and her face which resembles that of a Japanese anime character.

Wearing a silver bodysuit that looks like the metal body of a robot, light blue cosmetic contact lenses, and a short bob wig, the woman who is more than 190cm tall often confused the audience who struggled to decide whether she was an android or a human.

In one video in which she dressed like a humanoid, she even successfully cheated the system to warn the users of potential artificial intelligence-generated content.

@Dalaotian said her face and breasts cost her more than one million yuan (US$140,000).

She favoured the doll-like face and sometimes dressed like Barbie.

On January 15, she posted a video of her returning to her rural hometown in southwestern China's Sichuan province.

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China influencer in humanoid costume gets classic 'boyfriend' query in hometown

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Rural China matchmakers continue with age-old traditions despite woman being dressed as, acting like convincing robot in hometown visit.

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How to Make New Friends Quickly (with Pictures) - wikiHow

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If you've recently moved to a new city, started a new job, or changed schools, you're probably in a rush to make new friends. Or maybe you're just not clicking with your current friends anymore and you're ready for a change. Whatever the...

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How to “Find” Someone - Online and digital trails

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In the Information Age, everybody leaves a digital trail. And if the person doesn’t have one, well, let’s look harder. With Google, Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and countless other social media sites, whoever you’re looking for is bound to…

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A visual diary documenting the struggle for intimacy and understanding in 1980s NYC

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"Can't Help Myself" by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

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"Can't Help Myself" by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

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Powerful commentary on the intersection of technology, labour, and humanity

Reflects on the limitations of control

The emotional resonance of machines

The broader societal implications of our reliance on automation

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Chat GPT Therapy, AI Boyfriends, and the Rise of Automated Intimacy | 032c

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As we further integrate AI into our personal lives, our societal definitions of what constitutes guidance, connection, intimacy, and love is shifting. In an essay, CASSIDY GEORGE explores the impact of chatbots on human behavior, emotion, and relationships during a period of transition that parallels the Sexual Revolution.

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The Bizarre TikTok NPC Livestream Trend—Where Creators Act Like Robots—Explained

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Creators like Pinkydoll are captivating the internet by acting like robots on TikTok livestreams, reacting in real time to cartoon gifts users send them.

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The parents of a teenager who suffered a seizure while chatting online have thanked his friend who called emergency services from 5,000 miles away.

Aidan Jackson, 17, was talking to his friend in the USA from his bedroom in Widnes on 2 January when he had a fit.

His friend, 20-year-old Dia Lathora from Texas, alerted police in the UK.

The first Aidan's parents, Caroline and Steve, knew of the emergency was when police and an ambulance turned up, the Liverpool Echo reported.

They rushed upstairs to find their son "extremely disorientated".

Ms Jackson, 48, said: "We were at home watching TV and Aidan was upstairs in his room. The next thing we noticed was two police cars outside with flashing lights.

"I assumed they were in the area for another reason and then they ran up to the front door.

"They said there was an unresponsive male at the address. We said we hadn't called anyone and they said a call had come from America. I immediately went to check on Aidan and found him extremely disorientated."

Aidan had a seizure in May 2019 and is waiting for a new appointment following the latest incident.

"We are extremely thankful for what Dia did and shocked that we could be downstairs and not know anything was happening," Ms Jackson added.

"Dia had our address but didn't have any contact numbers, so it was amazing she managed to get help from so far away.

"I've spoken to her and expressed our thanks - she's just glad she could help.

"Aidan is a lot better and hopefully everything is OK when he has his appointment at the hospital but he's doing well."

Ms Lathora told the Liverpool Echo: "I just put my headset back on and I heard what I could only describe as a seizure, so obviously I started to get worried and immediately started asking what was going on and if he was OK.

"When he didn't respond I instantly started to look up the emergency number for the EU. When that didn't work I just had to hope the non-emergency would work, it had an option for talking to a real person...and I can't tell you how quickly I clicked that button."

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Teen having seizure saved by online gamer in Texas

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The parents of a teenager who suffered a seizure while chatting online have thanked his friend who called emergency services from 5,000 miles away. Aidan Jackson, 17, was talking to his friend in the USA from his bedroom in Widnes on 2 January when he had a fit.

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"Crash has since taken its place as a key text of late-twentieth-century cinema, a disturbingly seductive treatise on the relationships between humanity and technology, sex and violence, that is as unsettling as it is mesmerizing."

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For this icily erotic fusion of flesh and machine, David Cronenberg adapted J. G. Ballard’s future-shock novel of the 1970s into one of the most singular and provocative films of the 1990s. A traffic collision involving a disaffected commercial producer, James (James Spader), and an enigmatic doctor, Helen (Holly Hunter), brings them, along with James’s wife, Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger, in a sublimely detached performance), together in a crucible of blood and broken glass—and it’s not long before they are all initiated into a kinky, death-obsessed underworld of sadomasochistic car-crash fetishists for whom twisted metal and scar tissue are the ultimate turn-ons. Controversial from the moment it premiered at Cannes—where it won a Special Jury Prize “for originality, for daring, and for audacity”—Crash has since taken its place as a key text of late-twentieth-century cinema, a disturbingly seductive treatise on the relationships between humanity and technology, sex and violence, that is as unsettling as it is mesmerizing.

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A classic work of cutting edge fiction, Crash explores the disturbing potentialities of contemporary society's increasing dependence on technology as intermediary in human relations.

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Videodrome at 40: David Cronenberg’s singular tech horror remains relevant

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The boundary-pushing auteur asks how far is too far in a smart and slimy film about sadomasochism and the potential dangers of technology

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Neuromancer, its sequels and other cyberpunk stories are often discussed within the socio-economic context of the 1980s, a period of economic restructuring, corporate globalisation, and government deregulation

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I'm told that—does AI mean love? There’s like a name, AI, it sort of sounds a bit like love?

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Elon Musk: Humanity Is a Kind of ‘Biological Boot Loader’ for AI

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AI is outpacing our ability to understand it, says the Tesla CEO. It will open a new chapter for society, replies the Alibaba cofounder.

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Dominic Pettman notes ASMR affects some people so viscerally, to the point of generating a 'powerful form of sonic intimacy'.

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Dr Rob Gallagher's research into 'Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response'

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Yáge Trip:

Lee struggles to connect and communicate with Gene, and his longing for intimacy with him is beautifully illustrated with a ghostly Lee physically reaching out to Gene, so telepathy would allow him to say what he feels and needs to Gene in an easier and more direct way. A final attempt to get close to Gene beyond a sexual relationship, Lee and Gene’s bodies begin to merge as they embrace, and this is their final moment together.

One craves emotional intimacy, the other feels "disembodied" with queerness - it's an alienating force

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I aim to prioritise experimentation during my FMP, using it as a tool to thoroughly explore every possible avenue for answering my chosen question. I want my experimentation to be expansive, pushing me to step out of my comfort zone and build up my skillset. One of the most significant shifts in my practice on foundation has been the way I now view materials—not as tools to create an idea, but capable of communicating meaning on their own. This has moved me away from relying solely on traditional materials to convey concepts, and instead, allowing the inherent qualities of materials to speak for themselves. For instance, during Term 2, I explored childhood relationships through a textured painting titled Me, Atsumi, which incorporated hair as a material to reflect my complex relationship with my childhood nanny, who was also a hairdresser. This piece was a bold departure from my usual practice, as I had never used anything like hair in my art before. However, upon reflection, my process lacked thorough material testing and consideration of other disciplines that could have strengthened the communication of my concept. While working on canvas was a deliberate choice, having not used it in a long time, I believe that its two-dimensional limitations might have been not as an effective medium for expressing my idea. So it’s important to broaden my experimentation to include diverse mediums and techniques, ensuring that my final work is as conceptually and materially resolved as possible. With nine weeks dedicated to developing my techniques and exploring materials, I am confident that I can improve my testing documentation process and focus on creating a piece that powerfully communicates with an audience through medium and material alone.

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TV Buddha

To Paik, Buddha would have to “engage the screen, the video camera and the rapid flow of information and image – the material realities of the day https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/nam-june-paik/exhibition-guide

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‘I’m Not The Girl Who Misses Much‘, Pipilotti Rist, 1986 | Tate

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‘I’m Not The Girl Who Misses Much‘, Pipilotti Rist, 1986

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Compelling use of media -- lifelike sculpture is made of silicon and fibreglass

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This chatbot has a voice mode with multiple personalities including unhinged, NSFW role-play, and therapist

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Grok 3’s voice mode is unhinged, and that’s the point

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xAI’s voice AI chatbot shouts, swears, and flirts