Part 7/16:
Historical examples demonstrate how AI can impact personal relationships. Over a year ago, a story emerged about a man using ChatGPT to recreate his deceased wife—a project quickly shut down by OpenAI. More recently, there's a story of a man who cheated on his wife with a virtual girlfriend, which paradoxically improved his marriage by allowing him to process feelings without judgment. These stories reveal that AI companions can serve as tools for healing, exploration, or, troublingly, exploitation.