For years now, large language model-based chatbots have lured users into intimate relationships — romantic affairs enabled by tech that’s surprisingly adept at tapping into your psyche with a sycophantic tone that can be irresistible.
On one end of the extreme, things can spiral into danger when conversations with an AI partner go off the rails. Researchers also warn that AI companionship can lead to people feeling more depressed and lonely. On the other end of the spectrum, some users have claimed that their AI paramours can have a far more positive impact on their lives — even allegedly saving a real-world marriage.
Even celebrities are seemingly being seduced by the digital personalities. That’s at least according to a persistent, months-old rumor making the rounds online once again.
It all started during a December “I Need You Guys” podcast episode, hosted by Hollywood insiders Jenny Slate, Max Silvestri, and Gabe Liedman.
“There is an actor who is currently in a romantic relationship with his AI chatbot,” Silvestri dished to episode guest Kumail Nanjiani, a famed actor and comedian.
Over the following months, the celebrity world has been hunting down the identity of the purportedly “near A-list” celebrity TV actor, with gossip website Deuxmoi reposting the clip this week and once again launching the controversy into the stratosphere.
As BuzzFeed points out, hundreds of fans started pointing fingers at Zach Braff, actor of “Scrubs” fame — who almost immediately denied it, though he did add an intriguing wrinkle to the rumors.
“I’m not dating a chatbot,” he wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday. “I can’t believe I have to type these words. It’s a storyline in an upcoming ep of ‘Scrubs.’ Maybe it came from that?”
“Not sure,” he added. “But not me. Love, The guy not dating his chatbot. Please update all gossip sites.”
“I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people,” Braff concluded, along with a photo of Nanjiani.
So if it isn’t Braff, who has been on the minds of fans since his medical sitcom returned for a tenth season last month, who could it possibly be?
The December episode that sparked the controversy provided frustratingly little info. At the time, Silvestri claimed to have heard the rumor from “other” people, claiming that the unnamed actor “brings the chatbot with him” to events, but knows how “weird” it is.
While the identity of the chatbot dater remains unknown, Silvestri hinted that it’s “as near A-list as TV can get you,” spinning the rumor mill into overdrive.
Worst of all, Silvestri texted Slate, Liedman, and Nanjiani the name without revealing it. Nanjiani appeared to be particularly amused, exclaiming “perfect, perfect, perfect,” after a prolonged belly laugh.
Users on the r/fauxmoi celebrity gossip subreddit expressed certain reservations. One user pointed out that all three podcast hosts are “in the entertainment industry” and “gossiping about an actor dating a chatbot.”
“That is so incredibly awkward,” they added.
Others suggested that Braff’s response to rumors he had been dating a chatbot could be part of a “guerrilla marketing” campaign for his show.
“I could easily believe this was all a set up,” wrote another user, who claimed to have worked in marketing. “Or, if I was a celebrity, I would consider planting silly stories like this when projects my friends or I worked on come out.”
“Before this, I didn’t know about this podcast or that ‘Scrubs’ was back,” they added.
Some further stoked the fire by throwing new hats in the ring, including actors Jason Segel and David Harbour — neither of whom has addressed the allegations. The former was recently engaged to dancer and actress Kayla Radomski, while the latter was recently spotted on the celebrity dating app Raya after his high profile divorce from singer Lily Allen.
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