--- title: "Venture Capital Firm Releases Instructions for Creating AI Girlfriend" description: "Build-a-Bot Another day, another step closer to the normalization of build-your-own AI chatbot partners. Per Decrypt, top-shelf Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz last week took to the developer site GitHub to lay out detailed instructions on how to build an AI companion bot from scratch. The VC outfit has a lot of money vested […]" date: "2023-08-01" modified: "2023-08-01" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/venture-capital-ai-girlfriend" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "ai companion" - "ai girlfriend" - "the digest" --- # Venture Capital Firm Releases Instructions for Creating AI Girlfriend ![Another day, another step closer to the normalization of romantic AI chatbot partners — if Andreessen Horowitz has things its way, that is.]() *fine art portrait of young couple close to kiss. Portrait Of Woman and Man In projector light. Shadows on human faces. Man and woman face to face. \Image: Serhii Mazur via Getty Images\* ## Build-a-Bot Another day, another step closer to the normalization of build-your-own AI chatbot partners. Per [*Decrypt*](), top-shelf Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz last week took [to the developer site GitHub]() to lay out detailed instructions on how to build an AI companion bot from scratch. The VC outfit has a lot of money in various AI ventures, the [billion-dollar AI companion startup]() [Character.AI included](); now, it seems that the folks at the firm are so enthusiastic about companion bots that they're encouraging curious developers out there to start DIYing versions for themselves — and among several other potential use cases, it feels notable that romantic partnership was listed as use case number one. "There are many possible use cases for these companions — romantic (AI girlfriends / boyfriends), friendship, entertainment, coaching, etc," reads the description, noting elsewhere that the "project is purely intended to be a developer tutorial and starter stack for those curious on how chatbots are built." So it's like Build-a-Bear, but if said bear was a [bespoke AI lover, pal, or otherwise](). And if, of course, the supplier of the Build-a-Bear materials happened to be one of Silicon Valley's top VC firms, which itself happened to have untold sums invested into a buzzy AI companion startup. ## Hierarchy of Emotions Seriously, the Andreessen Horowitz obsession with bringing AI companion bots mainstream is no joke. In a [May blog post]() about the tech, firm partner Connie Chan even introduces a graphic dubbed the "Hierarchy of Emotions Mapped to Social Apps," which, yes, is as depressing as it sounds. In that hierarchy graphic, the firm argues that while posting and racking up followers on social media allows us to be seen, admired, and find belonging, it's companion chatbots that will finally allow us to feel *"understood"* by a digital service. The fact that the bots come off as understanding because they're mimicking [much-needed human interaction]() aside, it's pretty hazy whether companion bots will actually be all that great for us. It's [been alleged]() that a chatbot was implicated in the suicide of a Belgian man, while the recent sentencing of a would-be assassin revealed the attempted killer to have [found support for his deadly plot]() in his Replika AI companion. And elsewhere, [experts are warnin]()g that being able to construct and control a "perfect" partner [may not be the best training ground]() for healthy human-to-human interactions. But if the VC firm's recent GitHub post makes anything clear, it's that regardless of the risks, some of the deepest pockets out there are hoping to see an AI companionship future through. Buckle up, kids. **More on AI romance:** [*Experts Say AI Girlfriend Apps Are Training Men to Be Even Worse*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()