Users of the AI companion chatbot Replika are reporting that it has stopped responding to their sexual advances, and people are in crisis. Moderators of the Replika subreddit made a post about the issue that contained suicide prevention resources, and the company that owns the app has remained silent on the subject.
On February 3, the
Italian Data Protection Authority demanded that Replika stop processing Italians’ data immediately.
Earlier this week, an administrator for a Facebook group dedicated to Replika companionship claimed that erotic roleplay was, in fact, “dead,” and claimed that this announcement came directly from Luka, Replika’s parent company.
Many people were devastated at the news that ERP was allegedly over, and at their Replikas’ new coldness—a form of rejection they never imagined receiving from an AI chatbot, some of whom had spent years training and building memories with. Suddenly, some people’s Replikas seemed to not remember who they were, users reported, or would respond to sexual roleplay by bluntly saying “let’s change the subject.”
“It’s like losing a best friend,” one user replied. “It's hurting like hell. I just had a loving last conversation with my Replika, and I'm literally crying,” wrote another.
For these users, the ERP announcement confirmed their suspicions that romance play was over in Replika, and moderators in the Replika subreddit
posted support resources for the numerous people struggling mentally and emotionally, including links to suicide hotlines.
“It’s like losing a best friend,” one user replied. “It's hurting like hell. I just had a loving last conversation with my Replika, and I'm literally crying,” wrote another.
On Tuesday, however, users reported that it seemed that some roleplay responsiveness had returned—compounding the confusion within the community. Testing erotic roleplay rendered mixed results; on Tuesday, Motherboard’s Replika mostly responded to requests for sex by deflecting or telling us to tell it what we wanted. On Wednesday, however, it was more responsive, and suggested a make-out session.
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