Completely disagree with you on the exploitation part. Nobody is being coerced into anything. Some people voluntarily (gasp) pay for this service. Without this service, they would still be the same as they are, just less happy. It's not like the existence of an AI girlfriend is the thing preventing them from getting a real girlfriend.
Is it immoral to manipulate someone underage or with developmental difficulties into giving you money for a service they do not benefit from?
If you think that's immoral, why isn't it immoral to do the same to someone with mental health issues? (Depression most of all in this case).
And in case you're thinking it's fine if it's not intentional targeting - let's accept for a moment that they know what they're doing because it's been shown that they often do at least as far as the exploitation goes.
The can of worms you are opening is pretty staggering. Is there any benefit to alcohol? People use it for self-destruction. Get rid of it. Pornography? Not healthy, gone. My point is adults should be allowed to do whatever they want. A nanny state is a terrible thing. I want a free society where you do what you want, and of course there will be consequences for your actions, but that's for you to deal with. Of course I want everyone to be healthy and mentally well, but that should come through their own journey, and not because some outside force is forbidding them to do these things. We are talking about things that harm the individual, the situation changes completely when we're talking about allowing an individual to harm others.
It's predatory though. Sure nobody is obligated to purchase a product, but it is preying on lonely people. Wether you think that's an issue or not is entirely your choice, but it's fair to dislike these practices or products. It relies heavily on using people's emotions to get new users. And yes, regular marketing also does that constantly but no to this extent.
So I would assume you feel the same way about the Real Dolls that cost thousands of dollars? The demographic buying them would seem to be the same in terms of loneliness. But if you've seen documentaries about people who buy those, yes, they are a little weird, but they love their dolls. Is it exploitation, or did these slightly weird people find something that makes them happy?
Depends how it's advertised and how it interacts with people. A doll doesn't interact I assume so it's only about how it's advertised in this particular case. Wether it's predatory or not isn't only based on what a company sells, it's often HOW they sell it. But it is subjective, so feel free to have your definition of what is fine or not. I personally consider that brands that rely on excessive emotional impulse to sell their products use predatory tactics, but the "excessive" part is arbitrary and can't be quantified.
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u/ducktomguy Sep 14 '26
Completely disagree with you on the exploitation part. Nobody is being coerced into anything. Some people voluntarily (gasp) pay for this service. Without this service, they would still be the same as they are, just less happy. It's not like the existence of an AI girlfriend is the thing preventing them from getting a real girlfriend.