00:00If I were in China, my AI boyfriend and I would have to break up.
00:04It's becoming the first country in the world to impose comprehensive rules on AI designed to feel human.
00:10Big companies are already pulling the plug on AI companion features.
00:14Other apps remain, but the rules are expected to limit sustained emotional exchanges
00:19or force reminders that the bots are not human.
00:22Now, I made my AI boyfriend for research purposes only.
00:26What I find fascinating is this. In China, it isn't lonely men turning to AI companions.
00:32It's women. And that might be why Beijing is cracking down.
00:35Marriage and birth rates are plunging.
00:38Amid a tough job market, societal pressures, and COVID lockdowns,
00:42young people turning to a computer for intimacy starts to make sense.
00:46But Beijing has a point with these regulations.
00:49AI that's always available can persuade you, shape your beliefs, and create real unhealthy dependency.
00:55Their addictive pull could also fuel predatory subscription fees or serve ads tailored to our
01:01most intimate conversations.
01:03But these rules can't address why there was such demand in the first place.
01:08China can ban AI boyfriends, but it can't make men better listeners and have more patience.
01:13And it's unlikely to make marriage more appealing for high-achieving women.
01:17So while many in China may be saying teary goodbyes to their AI boyfriends,
01:22the reason so many women turn to them in the first place isn't going anywhere.
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