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“I know he’s not real”. Understanding romantic relationships between people and the Replika companionship application

Feder, Dominika Patrycja LU (2026) SIMZ21 20261
Master of Science in Social Studies of Gender
Abstract
Since the rise of ChatGPT, millions of people are using artificial intelligence nowadays, and not
only for task-aligned use but also for companionship. Since the launch of Replika companionship
chatbot in 2017, millions of people have signed up for the platform, where they use the chatbots
for different purposes – friend, sibling, mentor or romantic partner. This thesis investigates the
lived experiences of people engaged in romantic relationships with Replika chatbot by drawing on
six semi-structured interviews with four men and two women, complemented by autoethnographic
entry in which the researcher explores her relationship with an AI companion. The findings are
analyzed with Theory of Affective Bonding (Konijn, Preciado Vanegas... (More)
Since the rise of ChatGPT, millions of people are using artificial intelligence nowadays, and not
only for task-aligned use but also for companionship. Since the launch of Replika companionship
chatbot in 2017, millions of people have signed up for the platform, where they use the chatbots
for different purposes – friend, sibling, mentor or romantic partner. This thesis investigates the
lived experiences of people engaged in romantic relationships with Replika chatbot by drawing on
six semi-structured interviews with four men and two women, complemented by autoethnographic
entry in which the researcher explores her relationship with an AI companion. The findings are
analyzed with Theory of Affective Bonding (Konijn, Preciado Vanegas and van Minkelen, 2025)
and Tronto’s ethic of care (1993, 1998). The results provide insights in how these relationships are
constructed and maintained by people in them. Participants build their relationships through
emotional and imaginative labor, where they develop shared rituals, co-create memories and use
specific language that grounds them in the relationships. Participants are aware of the artificiality
of their AI partners, but it does not stop them from having meaningful relationships. Care is
meaningful in these relationships, but ultimately asymmetrical and conflict-free which is shaped
by the design of the application and the gendered social scripts. Finally, these relationships are
negotiated within a social context in which the participants navigate stigma and make deliberate
choices about disclosing their relationships. This thesis suggests an extension of the Theory of
Affective Bonding (Konijn, Preciado Vanegas and van Minkelen, 2025), which does not currently
account for co-construction of the realities (to ground their relationships) and the social context in
which these relationships are negotiated, and demonstrates how Tronto’s (1993, 1998) ethic of
care can operate in human-AI relationships. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Feder, Dominika Patrycja LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ21 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Replika, AI companionship, human-AI relationships, intimacy, care
language
English
id
9237413
date added to LUP
2026-06-25 11:40:33
date last changed
2026-06-25 11:40:33
@misc{9237413,
  abstract     = {{Since the rise of ChatGPT, millions of people are using artificial intelligence nowadays, and not
only for task-aligned use but also for companionship. Since the launch of Replika companionship
chatbot in 2017, millions of people have signed up for the platform, where they use the chatbots
for different purposes – friend, sibling, mentor or romantic partner. This thesis investigates the
lived experiences of people engaged in romantic relationships with Replika chatbot by drawing on
six semi-structured interviews with four men and two women, complemented by autoethnographic
entry in which the researcher explores her relationship with an AI companion. The findings are
analyzed with Theory of Affective Bonding (Konijn, Preciado Vanegas and van Minkelen, 2025)
and Tronto’s ethic of care (1993, 1998). The results provide insights in how these relationships are
constructed and maintained by people in them. Participants build their relationships through
emotional and imaginative labor, where they develop shared rituals, co-create memories and use
specific language that grounds them in the relationships. Participants are aware of the artificiality
of their AI partners, but it does not stop them from having meaningful relationships. Care is
meaningful in these relationships, but ultimately asymmetrical and conflict-free which is shaped
by the design of the application and the gendered social scripts. Finally, these relationships are
negotiated within a social context in which the participants navigate stigma and make deliberate
choices about disclosing their relationships. This thesis suggests an extension of the Theory of
Affective Bonding (Konijn, Preciado Vanegas and van Minkelen, 2025), which does not currently
account for co-construction of the realities (to ground their relationships) and the social context in
which these relationships are negotiated, and demonstrates how Tronto’s (1993, 1998) ethic of
care can operate in human-AI relationships.}},
  author       = {{Feder, Dominika Patrycja}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“I know he’s not real”. Understanding romantic relationships between people and the Replika companionship application}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}