AI companions may be on the rise, but the concept is not new. The original chatbot ELIZA was built in the 1960s, and even ...

In 2013, a movie called Her came out. It was about a man falling in love with an artificially intelligent operating system, made "human" only by the realistic female voice it was set to. At the time, ...

AI models intended to provide companionship for humans are on the rise. People are already frequently developing relationships with chatbots, seeking not just a personal assistant but a source of ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) It is not just individual lives that are at risk. Democracy requires the capacity to ...

A few years ago, I remember seeing a headline about a woman claiming she married an AI chatbot. I thought it was so ludicrous it had to be "fake news," but it wasn't. In 2026, apparently the thought ...

Parents are starting to ask us questions about artificial intelligence. Not about homework help or writing tools, but about emotional attachment. More specifically, about AI companions that talk, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Sahar Hashmi, M.D., Ph.D., is a Boston-based, award-winning AI expert. Feb 15, 2026, 12:08am EST ...

Interacting with an AI companion like you would a trusted friend may not seem intriguing to a parent, but researchers have found that kids are engaging with these entities at alarming rates. In fact, ...