From Pseudo-Intimacy to Cyber Romance: A Study of Human and AI Companions’ Emotion Shaping and Engagement Practices

With the rapid development of AI technology, AI chatbots offer new possibilities for intimate relationships. This study conducted in-depth interviews with 23 users who had established intimate relationships with Replika. The investigation identified the reasons for the emergence of intimate relationships between humans and AI chatbots, the generation mechanism and the impact on real-world interaction practices. It shows that, under the dual influence of technological progress and the emotional dilemmas prevalent in modern society, traditional pseudo-intimacy is gradually shifting toward cyber romance. The shaping of cyber romance between people and their AI companions is a complex mechanism that interacts with multiple factors. Intimacy with AI companions profoundly impacts users' real-life social practices, both positively and negatively. Meanwhile, this study explored the critical role emotional projection plays in human-AI intimate relationships, the modern emotional responsibilities and moral boundaries reshaped by human-AI intimate relationships, and the benefits and risks brought about by AI companions as emotional substitutes. This study observed the development of human-machine relationships to understand how AI can reshape the emotional landscape by transitioning human-machine relationships from pseudo-intimacy to real intimacy. It reveals the role of AI in emotional influence and provides new perspectives on future human intimacy and AI ethics.