The chatbot, which offers romantic companionship, has been hit with an FTC complaint from tech ethics organizations ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a 37-year-old self-published author and user of the AI chatbot Replika. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, but Insider verified his identity.

“A romantic relationship with an AI can be a very powerful mental wellness tool," said Eugenia Kuyda, who founded Replika ...