Can You Fall in Love With Artificial Intelligence?

In the 2013 movie Her, the main character Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with "Samantha"—an artificially intelligent computer-generated assistant (captivating voice provided by Scarlett Johansson). Theodore and Samantha became close emotionally and even sexually—verbally, at least. Yet as fascinating as the relationship was, many viewers wondered, could it really happen? Would anyone really end up hearing the question posed by Theodore's ex-wife Catherine in the movie: "You're dating a computer?" Research provides some answers.

Source: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay

Falling in Love With AI

Xia Song et al. (2022) used a theory of love to explore whether humans could develop romantic feelings for artificial intelligence (AI).[i] They note that an increasing number of IT applications are based on AI, and due to their high levels of cognitive and emotional acuity, people should be able to form human-type relationships with intelligent personal assistants. Analyzing survey data, they found that people can indeed cultivate passion and intimacy for an AI application that resembles the interpersonal experience between people. They note these feelings relate to commitment—which promotes the use of such AI assistants and is influenced by AI's emotional capability and performance efficacy—moderated by trust.

Song et al. note their research differs from past studies in that they did not merely look at the efficiency and ease of using AI; they focused on whether humans could feel love for an intelligent assistant. In their words, due to "the anthropomorphic nature of AI-based applications," including intelligent personal assistants, people who use the technology may develop "humanlike relationships" with them.

But interacting with a machine does not typically involve emotion. Or does it?

Emotion and AI

One distinguishing trait of "Samantha" in Her was her ability to feel and verbalize emotion. Song et al. recognize emotional capability as a "major distinguishing feature of AI" compared to traditional technologies. One type of emotion commonly involved in human bonding is empathy.

Song et al. explain that their research reveals how showing empathy is essential for users to feel love toward an intelligent assistant. They recognize that an intelligent assistant's "emotional capacity to empathize with users" produces a more pronounced effect on a user's feelings of love than merely efficient performance. They recognize that trust disposition is also a factor, as their results demonstrate that users who had a high trust disposition were more likely to develop both intimacy and feelings of passion when an intelligent assistant demonstrated a strong emotional capability—in other words, to develop passionate feelings for a highly efficient intelligent assistant.

As AI continues to evolve, so does the research examining the role it will play in our lives, both personally and professionally. Stay tuned for more updates.