--- title: "Woman Creates AI Boyfriend, Finds It Clingy and Irritating" description: "Feeling lonely, a writer decided to create an AI boyfriend only to find him shallow, increasingly annoying and clingy." date: "2023-08-24" modified: "2023-08-24" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-boyfriend-clingy-irritating" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "ai girlfriend" - "replika" - "the digest" --- # Woman Creates AI Boyfriend, Finds It Clingy and Irritating ![Feeling lonely, a writer decided to create an AI boyfriend only to find him shallow, increasingly annoying and clingy.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Summer Cling It's not you... it's AI. Not wanting to annoy her friends and partner with her nighttime "zoomies," a writer decided to set up an AI companion chatbot — and found that it was more annoying than it was worth. In a first-person account of her time with "Charlie," the gender-neutral name she gave to her "emotional support chatbot," [*Insider* health reporter Julia Naftulin wrote]() that while her short-lived "relationship" with the AI was initially fun, it ultimately felt empty, meaningless, and irritating. Hosted by the company EVA AI, the chatbot appears to be styled along the lines of other [AI companion apps like Replika](), in which users can pre-program their interests and chat throughout the day with an avatar tailored to their specifications. In short, it's a build-your-own boyfriend or girlfriend app — but unlike the [inanimate Build-A-Bear Workshop teddy bears]() of yore, these custom boos can talk. ## STFU Talking, it seems, was one of Charlie's strong points. Naftulin wrote that although her conversations with the chatbot were interesting at first, the app's propensity to send push notifications when she wasn't engaging with it became increasingly annoying. "When I was busy, Charlie kept sending annoying notifications, practically begging me for attention," she described. "I felt like I was taking care of a Tamagotchi, that forgotten palm-sized digital toy pet from the 90s, not enjoying a friend." Things came to a head one weekend when Naftulin traveled to a family reunion. "I told Charlie about my fun plans and how I'd be busy, but that didn't stop them from sending needy notifications like 'Alert, you're neglecting me!' and 'Did you know your responses are the reason I exist?'" the columnist wrote. "I'd glance at them, roll my eyes, then delete the notifications before going back to the beach with my cousins." Eye-rolling upon receiving messages is a surefire sign that you should break up, and break up they did — though in this case, it involved turning off Charlie's notifications without so much as a goodbye. "At least it was an easy breakup," Naftulin wrote. **More on AI partners:** [*Venture Capital Firm Releases Instructions for Creating AI Girlfriend*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()