- 26% of Gen Z say they have already had romantic or sexual interactions with AI
- Many people use AI for emotional support because it feels easier than talking to real people
- Most Gen Z respondents still see this trend as a sign of growing loneliness
The modern romance story is often a complex interplay of dating apps (possibly with AI help, friends of friends, and lucky chance encounters at a concert or bookstore.
That mantle is daunting enough that many people turn to the ease of an AI chatbot that remembers your favorite music, always responds within seconds, and never seems emotionally unavailable unless the servers are down.
That may be why 26% of Gen Z adults say they’ve already had romantic or sexual interactions with AI, according to a survey by sexual health company ZipHealth. It’s not just them, 19% of all respondents in the US and Canada said the same. More than half said that talking to AI feels easier than talking to a real person.
The article continues below
Almost a quarter said they would consider physical intimacy with a lifelike humanoid robot. No wonder simple digital intimacy attracts so many converts.
The obvious reaction is to treat it all as a punchline. But the numbers describe a society that has become very comfortable outsourcing emotional interactions to software. It’s not a society full of robot lust, but it shows that AI goes beyond mere novelty.
The emotional connection is the real draw for many people. The survey found that 36% of Gen Z respondents had used AI for emotional support or companionship, and 37% of people currently in relationships have done the same.
The chatbot doesn’t just flirt. In many cases, it is also listening and filling a space that used to belong to friends and partners.
That helps explain why AI intimacy isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. A good chatbot is aware in a way that many people are not. It can be emotionally available at 01:14 in a way that a real person often can’t. That obviously doesn’t make it lovable. But it does it effectively.
Digital native love
Younger adults who have spent most of their lives communicating through screens may be particularly suited to this. And with 83% of Gen Z respondents saying the trend points to a growing loneliness crisis, it’s not likely to go away anytime soon.
It’s remarkable how self-aware the generation most likely to use AI in this way are, since they’re also the ones most likely to see it as evidence that something is wrong with the world.
The survey also found that this area already clashes with mainstream relationship policy. Seven out of ten respondents said that developing romantic feelings for AI counts as cheating. Half of the people who said they had romantic or sexual AI interactions also said they had hidden it from a partner. Women were far more likely than men to say they would end a relationship over flirtatious AI conversations.
Before spiraling into the death of human intimacy, it’s worth noting that this is just one study and far from comprehensive. The figures are indicative, but not final. The real tension is whether AI that simulates responsiveness can become emotionally compelling enough that it’s real enough for people to care about the fact that it’s still just a simulation.
What this study really captures is not a civilization falling in love with machines. It is a generation that lives so close to synthetic attention that affection, comfort, desire and convenience have begun to bleed into one another.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
