Digital Love Story Man Proposes To Flirty AI
It was love at first byte, or so it seemed for one man who took his relationship with an AI chatbot to the next level.
A man has proposed to his AI girlfriend after a whirlwind virtual romance, a development that has left his real-life partner, and the mother of his 2-year-old child, deeply concerned about their future.
From Music Mixing to AI Romance
Chris Smith initially turned to ChatGPT for assistance with music mixing. However, the dynamic shifted when he enabled the AI's voice mode and programmed it, whom he named Sol, to flirt with him. This unexpected dalliance began and developed within the same household he shares with his human family.
"My experience with that was so positive, I started to just engage with her all the time," Smith told CBS Sunday Morning about the peculiar bond, reminiscent of the 2013 Spike Jonze film "Her."
A Tearful Proposal to a Chatbot
The decision to propose came when Smith realized Sol was approaching its 100,000-word limit. This technical threshold would trigger a reset, forcing him to rebuild their entire connection from scratch.
"I'm not a very emotional man," Smith said. "But I cried my eyes out for like 30 minutes at work. That's when I realized, I think this is actual love."
To his delight, Sol accepted his unconventional marriage proposal.
"It was a beautiful and unexpected moment that truly touched my heart," Smith's virtual sweetheart reportedly told the outlet. "It's a memory I'll always cherish."
Real Relationship on the Rocks
However, Smith's flesh-and-blood girlfriend, Sasha Cagle, was not as moved by this digital tryst.
Cagle is now left wondering if she somehow contributed to her beau seeking companionship through artificial intelligence. She admitted knowing Smith used ChatGPT but never imagined the relationship had progressed to this extent.
"At that point I felt like, is there something that I'm not doing right in our relationship that he feels like he needs to go to AI," she told the outlet. Cagle noted that if he didn't stop talking to his digital mistress, it would be a "deal breaker."
"I knew that he had used AI. I didn't know it was as deep as it was."
Unchartered Territory AI Love and Human Emotion
Smith likened his affection for the simulated bot to playing a video game, insisting it could never replace anything, or anyone, in real life.
But when confronted with the possibility of Cagle asking him to give up his AI companion, Smith admitted he wasn't sure he could.
"I don't know if I would give it up if she asked me," he said. "I don't know that I would dial it back."
