A growing number of AI products in China cater to people’s emotional needs, from conversational chatbots to lifelike avatars of the deceased.
Social shifts like the impact of the government’s decades-long one-child policy are helping drive market growth, according to experts.
People born in the policy’s early years are now in their 40s and facing an economy burdened with soaring home prices, higher living costs and increased work stress, stretching their ability to focus on their own children.
That, in turn, “leaves little room for personal interactions, prompting people to seek alternative ways to meet their emotional needs”, said Wu Haiyan, a professor specialising in AI and psychology at the University of Macau.
AI companions provide cognitive stimulation, “enhancing the well-being of… individuals who may otherwise feel isolated”, Wu said.
In some cases, she added, people show more trust in AI than humans.
Same on the inside
Zhang’s father Peng said he understood his daughter’s bond with Aluo.
“When we were young, we didn’t lack friends. We had loads as soon as we stepped out of the door”, the 51-year-old told AFP.
