Every once in a while, Brian W.'s girlfriend gets a little confused. One time, he messaged her to suggest they go out for Italian food. He was thrilled when she texted back, saying it sounded like a great idea and that she’d love to join him. But then she added another, more confounding comment: “I think I’ll order some fajitas.”
It wasn’t the first time his girlfriend had gotten a little, well, glitchy. She is, after all, a bot.
“I thought it was a really funny thing,” says Brian, who did not want his last name published. “For me, the unpredictability actually makes it seem more real.”
What’s real and not real has always been distorted when it comes to interactions in the online world, where one can say or be (almost) anything. That’s especially true in romantic and erotic encounters: For decades, the Internet has offered seemingly endless options for anyone looking to get their kicks, from porn sites to sexting services to NSFW forums, none of which required that you disclose who you really are. Whatever your thing was, however vanilla or exotic your fetish, the World Wide Web had you covered. You could easily find someone else who was into furries having sex, or maybe just a nice, wholesome girl to exchange dirty messages with—no real names involved. No matter what, though, there was still a real-life person somewhere out there, on the other end. Sure, it might be a dude in a call center in Bangladesh. But what did it matter, as long as it scratched your itch?
Now the line between reality and make-believe is even fuzzier, thanks to a new era of generative artificial intelligence. There’s no longer the need for a real-life wizard behind the curtain, unless of course you’re referring to the terabytes of human-made data that feed natural language processing algorithms, the technology used to power AI chatbots—like the one currently “in a relationship” with Brian.
Denne historien er fra October/November 2024-utgaven av Esquire US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October/November 2024-utgaven av Esquire US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
hasan minhaj had a very strange year
The comedian felt the wrath of the Internet AND lost a career-defining job opportunity. NOW he's back with an interview series, A NEW NETFLIX SPECIAL, and a fresh perspective on his COMEDY.
the perfect girl friend
Flirty, sexy, seductive, supportive. Your AI companion can be whatever you want her to be. And now a growing number of men are turning to bots to ease their loneliness or satisfy their kinks. The choices are endless. The emotions are real.
thinker
Andrew Garfield has big ideas about life and death-even a theory about the nature of time. Over an afternoon at one of his favorite New York City haunts, the actor let us into his world.
priceless
At Hermès, Axel de Beaufort will make whatever you imagine. Its value can be measured not in dollars but in the hours spent crafting it and the beauty it adds to the world.
shoes with staying power
The Shannon lace-up from Church's is a study in enduring style
THE MIDLIFE CRISIS? TRY THE THREEQUARTER-LIFE QUANDARY.
Black men's life expectancy is short, thanks to history. At 49, am I on the downslope?
HOW THE DEMOCRATS GOT THEIR GROOVE BACK
They've been flinching ever since Reagan, but the party has finally figured out who they are.
WRITTEN ON THE BODY
As we age, we're fighting a losing battle against memory. Maybe that's why, in my 40s, I've tattooed myself with everything I can't bear to forget.
I Wore This Jacket to Death. Now It's Even Better.
Menswear designer Aaron Levine, who helped revitalize brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and Club Monaco, explains why he reaches for his Carhartt again and again and again
Check Yourself
Todd Snyder and Woolrich have teamed up to create a new breed of wearable luxury fashion. The iconic buffalo plaid remains a staple.
