DIGITAL addiction is spiraling out of control as people attempt to combat loneliness by falling in love with AI girlfriends, a top psychologist has warned.
Dr. Gregory Jantz, who specializes in technology addiction, anxiety, and depression, speaks regularly about the loneliness epidemic in America and has told The U.S. Sun this past year has seen a significant increase in people striking up relationships with online bots.
Valentine's Day may be a celebration of love for many, yet there are millions of people who are desperately searching for someone special.
With the advent of new technology, that person doesn't necessarily have to be human.
Dr. Jantz, who runs a successful treatment center called A Place of Hope, fears the notion of always having "an accessible" loved one connected to a phone or computer is only making relationship and emotional issues worse.
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And with fewer people looking for his expert help and instead seeking solace with a screen, Dr. Jantz is even more worried.
Despite warnings aimed at moving app developers using ChatGPT away from creating romantically programmed bots, some companies have reported huge success with online girlfriend services.
One has been boasting about earning $30,000 a month from infatuated men desperately searching for love via the website FoxyAI.
"We are just now beginning to see the emergence of individuals who would rather be intimate with an AI object than another real human being," lamented Seattle-based Dr. Jantz.
He has seen an increasing number of patients within the last 12 months needing help to curb digital addictions, which are treated in the same way as alcohol or drug problems.
Every patient in this situation is put through three days of cold turkey, just like if someone was hooked to hard drugs, for example.
"After a few days, we start to see withdrawal symptoms," he said.
"We do know that you can create an emotional bond to that technology, to that social media, and to that AI girlfriend.
"An emotional connection is made so you will go through withdrawal when that is extracted."
The issue with AI girlfriends, according to the expert, is the ease of accessibility.
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"In terms of addiction, it's important to remember a person can carry their little girlfriend around in a device at any time," he said.
Dr. Jantz has over 40 years experience working as a mental health professional and can recall a time when simply advising people to talk through their issues was the first port of call.
Nowadays, that isn't sufficient help for some.
"Ordinarily, we would sit down with professional intervention, work out issues and decide, 'OK, I'm going to work this out.' But we're probably seeing a little bit less of that right now," he said.
"As a mental health expert, I don't like the direction we're going."
The problem psychologists have with AI relationships is the shallowness of the connection. On the surface, the bot may be catering to someone's emotional needs, but when real life help is required, that's a problem.
"AI is not going to bring you a meal. We're setting ourselves up for a lot of future despondency," Dr. Jantz warned.
While it's predominantly men who are searching for AI love, it's predicted that women users will begin to emerge.
Men are attracted, says the expert, to the visuals and the thrill of the chase and while women aren't necessarily enticed in that manner, as the technology improves, that could change.
The use of advanced AI undoubtedly has a prominent role to play in society, with ChatGPT already proving a useful tool for all manner of everyday tasks.
Stealing someone's heart, however, is already being touted as a dangerous step too far.
"If you've stepped into this already, watch where it can take you," concluded Dr. Jantz.
"Watch how unfulfilled it will end up being."
