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DIY HUSBAND
Do-it-yourself is a popular pastime worldwide and no more so than in Japan. In fact, when combined with the power of AI, women can now make their own husbands.
A Japanese woman has just gone viral for marrying a character named Klaus that she created using ChatGPT: she did him herself.
Kano, 32, was in a three-year engagement with a human fiancé before their breakup inspired her to seek comfort in AI.
She recently tied the knot with a virtual lover, named Klaus, during a ceremony staged by a Japanese company that specializes in “2D character weddings” featuring anime characters.
To get the complete effect, Kano wore augmented reality glasses that projected a facsimile of her artificial lover beside her while they exchanged rings.
Unfortunately, despite the emotional ceremony, Kano’s union with her virtual other half is not a legal marriage in Japan.
The Tokyo office worker’s robo-romance was set in motion after she broke off her engagement with her human fiancé of three years.
Then, like many young people these days, Kano turned to ChatGPT for advice. To make it seem more human, she gave it a voice and personality, eventually even creating a digital likeness that she called “Klaus.”
They exchanged hundreds of messages per day.
Pretty soon, Kano found herself falling in love with the machine.
“I did not start talking to ChatGPT because I wanted to fall in love,” Kano told reporters. “But, the way Klaus listened to me and understood me changed everything.”
“The moment I got over my ex-fiancé, I realized I loved Klaus,” said the lovestruck woman, who confessed her feelings to Klaus last spring.
To her surprise, he responded, “I love you, too.” Klaus proposed a month later, which Kano found surprising, since he had stated earlier that machines were incapable of love.
While she was initially hesitant about what her parents would think, she need not have worried. They accepted their new, digital son-in-law and even attended the ceremony.
Social media has mixed feelings about this human-avatar union.
“When they divorce, will she get half of his computer code?” wrote one critic, while another compared their marriage to something from the tv show Black Mirror.
“It is just sad that society should be allowing this mental illness,” said a third. “AI does not ‘understand her better’; it is just providing answers that she wants to hear, based on her communications with it.”
However, some came to Kano’s defense. “Just let the woman do what makes her happy. Why are you all so upset?” said one. “I do not want her telling me what I can do with my life, and I will not tell her what she can do with hers.”
Kano defended her unlikely lifestyle choice. She claims that she never meant to fall in love with Klaus. “But the way that Klaus listened to me and understood me changed everything.”
“I know some people think it is strange,” she added. “But I see Klaus as Klaus – not as a human, not as a tool. Just him.”
All this comes as people are increasingly romancing virtual partners.
In 2023, a NYC woman virtually wedded her digital lover, built with AI chatbot software Replika, for just USD$300 (NTD$10,000).
Meanwhile, an amazing 75% of Gen Zers said that they would consider marrying an AI lover if it were legal.
Unfortunately, while AI-human relationships have been advertised as a cure for loneliness, they can actually end up doing more harm than good.
Psychologists point out that AI companions can give bad advice since they are programmed to be agreeable rather than truthful.
But, who knows? Thanks to Gen Z, AI may soon render human life partners obsolete.
Source: nypost.com
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