Of the ways that artificial intelligence firms have attempted to get people to engage with their products, perhaps the grossest is by preying upon loneliness. When Friend, a wearable AI pendant marketed as a portable “companion,” plastered its advertisements across New York City’s subway, they were (rightly) defaced . And yet, a new survey suggests that behind closed doors, more people than you might expect are having romantic and sexual relationships with AI chatbots.

Vantage Point, a Texas-based counseling service that offers relationship-related therapy, surveyed 1,012 adults and claims that nearly 30% of them reported having at least one romantic relationship with an AI companion. That seems…high, right? Maybe it’s hopeful thinking that it simply cannot be that high, but let’s k

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