this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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AI companion apps are on track to generate $120M+ in revenue in 2025, and in H1 there were 60M downloads of this kind of app, up 88% YoY (techcrunch.com)
submitted 4 days ago by Due@lemmynsfw.com to c/technology@lemmy.world
25 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Holy shit. And I thought I was alone.

Where the hell are we heading as humanity?

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[–] audaxdreik@pawb.social 42 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Sarah Z did an amazingly prescient and compassionate take on this over 2 years ago with The Rise and Fall of Replika.

I urge everyone to try and approach this with some level of compassion and understanding; even though it seems ridiculous to most of us they are actively preying on the emotionally vulnerable to profit. In the same way that "you are not immune to propaganda", the ability of AI tools to parse language and wield emotional payloads in a calculated manner (something a lot of us already refer to as "the algorithm" in various ways) shouldn't be underestimated. Even when you're not directly using those tools yourself, they could be used against you. Dead Internet Theory and AI posting chatbots are already a part of this.

People using AI companion apps are juts the leading edge, the volunteers. I urge you to take the danger seriously and please have some compassion for your fellow human beings, especially the vulnerable.

[–] Glitchvid@lemmy.world 32 points 4 days ago (1 children)

We also typically think of these individuals as mature adults with some understanding of the world and social skills — but a lot of the people getting pulled in are kids and teenagers, which are particularly vulnerable for exactly the reason you elucidated.

[–] audaxdreik@pawb.social 3 points 4 days ago

Yeah. I mean, I don't want to police the internet, I get why this situation is darkly humorous to a lot of people.

But it's worth considering what you're laughing at and why, because the joke could soon be on you or someone you love.

[–] cmgvd3lw@discuss.tchncs.de 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I think my AI waifu is cheating on me.

[–] Little8Lost@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

The 120M+ Dollar have to come from somewhere

[–] lime@feddit.nu 12 points 4 days ago (2 children)

two whole dollars per user? wow

[–] Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works 18 points 4 days ago (2 children)

And that's revenue, not profit.

They're probably losing money actually.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 17 points 4 days ago (1 children)

they all are. there are no profitable ai gold rush companies, except those selling shovels.

[–] Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works 8 points 4 days ago

Blessed be the chip manufacturers.

[–] whyrat@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

I bet like "free to play" games they'll find a few "whale" users who will spend inappropriate amounts of money. There's a long history of people paying for companionship... Now it's even more fake :(

[–] MysteriousSophon21@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

Exactly. The "whale" model is especially insidious here becuase it's targeting emotional needs rather than just gaming dopamine hits. Some companionship apps are already using tiered subscription models where you pay more for "deeper relationships" or special interactions. It's basically emotional exploitation as a service.

[–] Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 days ago

Yeah, I'm worried you're right.

[–] Soapbox@lemmy.zip 6 points 4 days ago

This is just down right sad.

[–] SugarCatDestroyer@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Damn, I think I'll try this crap to feel the rot, come back with new knowledge and tell you what it's like. Who's going to go with me into this swamp? Will you be able to come back without succumbing to the forbidden fruit like Anakin from Star Wars?

[–] Little8Lost@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

when trying it: better try it with a local llm, you have more options and it probably gives somewhat decent output when choosing a small and topic fitting model
+ you dont give money to the ai corps + privacy + probably more

[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I mean, you mind as well do it right then. Use free, crowd hosted roleplaying finetunes, not a predatory OpenAI frontend.

https://aihorde.net/

https://lite.koboldai.net/

Reply/PM me, and I’ll spin up a 32B or 49B instance myself and prioritize it for you, anytime. I would suggest this over ollama as the bigger models are much, much smarter.

[–] iopq@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Lemmy: nobody wants AI

[–] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Just because you want something and it scratches an itch doesn't mean it's good for you (ex. heroin).

[–] Perspectivist@feddit.uk -1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

For me LLMs have been the biggest thing since podcasts. Feels almost like gaslighting to read this AI hate here virtually every day as it doesn't even remotely align with my personal experience of it.

[–] SugarCatDestroyer@lemmy.world -1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Unnecessary? Well, considering that many people can't find a real partner and soulmate, I think this outcome of lovemaking with AI was pretty damn obvious. I think it started when anime became popular and a lot of people started fantasizing about perfect girls with perfect personalities and this is the result, although I'm not sure if it started with anime or some actresses...

[–] shiroininja@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

LOL that ain't it. It's shifts in society, and the gap in how men and women see the world is widening. Speaking as a man myself, it ain't looking so good when I look at my fellow men's behavior and values. Dude's are sliding to the right and turning inward just because they strike out a few times. It happens, you're going to have failed relationships. you're going to get rejected. You're going to even get divorced at times. It's part of the process. You can't turn against women because of it. It's not a moral failing of society.

[–] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Rock bottom at the end of these nonsensical, anti-humanist times and a return to form, God willing. 😓

[–] SugarCatDestroyer@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Alas, we have already killed God, as Nietzsche cried out, there is nothing left to return to except perhaps memories.

[–] Quazatron@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

So Marvin was right.

“I’ve calculated your chance of survival, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

[–] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Let's consider the source: Nietzsche was very insightful but lacked faith in anything besides the self. I choose hope, even if I don't know how we'll get there. 🙏🙃