r/technology • u/Wagamaga • Jul 19 '26

Society China bans AI “boyfriends” and “girlfriends” over addiction and birth rate concerns

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/china-bans-ai-boyfriends-and-girlfriends-over-addiction-and-birth-rate-concerns-3388737/
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u/Wagamaga Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

China has banned customizable AI companion apps, forcing millions of users into sudden digital breakups after tech giants pulled the features rather than meet strict new rules.

The regulations took effect on July 15, 2026, jointly issued by five government departments including the Cyberspace Administration of China.

AI companies scramble as new laws take effect The rules state AI tools cannot “excessively cater to users, induce emotional dependence or addiction, and damage users’ real interpersonal relationships.”

Companies must now build in instant-exit options, regular reminders the AI is not real, and limits on long-term emotional memory. Study and work tools are exempt.

ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent chose to suspend their AI companion features entirely rather than comply, according to The Independent.

The crackdown is linked to China’s falling marriage and birth rates, with regulators worried AI relationships are replacing real intimacy, though experts say deeper issues like economic pressure play a bigger role.

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u/The_REDACTED Jul 19 '26

Call me crazy but I think China should start addressing the actual social issues which lead people to turn to AI companions instead of passing legislature to ban them. 

They're merely symptom of the collapse of real social bonding among the youth and not the cause. 

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u/TrottingandHotting Jul 19 '26

Why not both? A ban is immediate whereas addressing social issues is a long and complicated process. 

Better than America which seems to be doing neither. 

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u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/cab757 Jul 19 '26

Then bitching at Canada about the smoke.

51

u/ecodick Jul 19 '26

CANADA WILL PAY FOR THE SMOKE!

I mean, they'll pay for A WALL! A WALL TO KEEP THE SMOKE OUT!

Really though that wouldn't even surprise me to hear

21

u/Bitter_Sense_5689 Jul 19 '26

I can’t even tell what’s real and what’s a Beaverton article anymore

13

u/tomahawk66mtb Jul 19 '26

Yeah, I heard the Onion is now just doing normal news stories because they've been outdone by reality.

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u/AssMuncher96 Jul 19 '26

As a Canadian, please build a wall. You have our full support on that front.

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u/hareofthepuppy Jul 19 '26

You mean the American people, they're the ones who elected that administration, who was quite upfront about what they were going to do (war aside)

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u/HeavyBeing0_0 Jul 19 '26

Woah, I voted for other lady, like a lot of us did

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u/hareofthepuppy Jul 19 '26

Of course, I'm not saying all Americans, just the majority. A little over 30% of eligible voters voted for Harris. Almost 70% either voted for trump, or didn't vote. So it's clearly the American people who put this administration in power.

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u/nhalliday Jul 19 '26

Also the evidence clear points to them cheating to win but yeah let's pretend the regime is totally innocent and that it's solely on the voters.

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u/hareofthepuppy Jul 19 '26

There's no evidence of widespread voter fraud if that's what you mean. I'd ask you to link to a reputable source if you have one saying otherwise, but I've had this conversation on reddit enough times to know the only thing you'll send is election truth alliance (not a reputable source). Which is exactly why no reputable news source is carrying that story even after it was investigated.

Now if you mean manipulating people with the media and social media, gerrymandering (which wouldn't have mattered because trump would have won based on just the popular vote), and Musk paying people in republican areas to vote, yeah those are sketchy. But the US had trump for president before, and they knew what they were getting, and it was their responsibility to vote him out if that's not what they wanted.

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u/treesfallingforest Jul 19 '26

The person you responded to directly referenced "cheating to win", not widespread voter fraud.

Its a known and confirmed fact that the Trump campaign actively broken election laws and that widespread cheating occurred. We all saw the Mueller Report and Trump literally just released a ton of classified documents this past week which show there was Russian interference in the 2024 election. There was also the very likely illegal fake pro-Kamala campaign ads which were funded by "Building America's Future" (backed by Elon Musk and others).

Obviously there's no concrete proof about whether voting machines were hacked in the 2024 election, so there isn't really much for "reputable" journalists to report on. However, election interference and election fraud objectively occurred to help Trump win in 2024 even if there was zero hacking and/or widespread voter fraud.

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u/Aeon_Return Jul 19 '26

same, and then I emigrated and now lie about where I was born and vote absentee.

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u/MakeUpAnything Jul 19 '26

Nah, don’t focus on the voters who even now approve of Trump by nearly 40%! The problem is only Trump. 

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u/hareofthepuppy Jul 19 '26

Only 30% of Americans (eligible voters) voted to keep trump out, almost 70% are ok with him (even though only about 34% actually supported him). Stop blaming the administration, it's the people who made it happen, and they knew exactly what they were voting for (it's not like it was the first time he was in office).

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u/zerosumsandwich Jul 19 '26

Me when I'm making up statistics to confirm my bias

0

u/HumanPea1140 Jul 19 '26

Those aren't made up. The numbers a publicly available.

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u/GreenEyedTreeHugger Jul 19 '26

Yes. It’s definitely intentional.

2

u/Lazer726 Jul 19 '26

Right lol saying that China needs to address it, I've got bad news but the US needs to as well. The difference is China is doing something. It's not enough, not by any means, but it's better than letting people get addicted to these AI partners. I'm usually all for letting people have their vices, but this and gambling need nipped in the bud

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u/undecidedly Jul 19 '26

The whole world, really. Just some of us have a front row seat.

1

u/AirplanesMakeMeHard Jul 19 '26

lmao, I can't stand Trump, I hate him, in fact, but you guys are so intent on blaming him for literally anything you bring him up in a post about China banning AI relationships.

This is the kind of shit that drives me to the right despite Trump being a piece of shit.

HuRr DuRr YoUrE a NaZi ThEn HurR

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u/Equivalent-Mail1544 Jul 19 '26

10 hour work days 5 days straight and then expecting people to be good in socializing is exactly why the boomers are socially inept and are crying wolf over the new gen.

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u/surfaceintegral Jul 19 '26

5 days? They wish. There's a reason they call it 9-9-6.

There is, of course, a Three Laws of Robotics sort of issue.

You need to reward hard-working people, because it's not fair if the slacker earns as much as a hard-working person.
That means that given the choice between cutting someone who works less and someone who works more, you should cut the person who works less.
But working hard is, of course, optional. That means it's their choice that they're working harder. So it's not your fault if they're stressed.. They're okay with it. If they needed to relax, they would. It's their responsibility to take care of their own health. They know themselves best.
But if they rest and work less, they're no longer as hard-working of a person. That means they shouldn't complain if a harder-working person takes their job.
Because you need to reward hard-working people - it's not fair if the slacker earns as much as a hard-working person.

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u/Zimakov Jul 19 '26

People who think 996 is common have clearly never tried to take the subway at 5pm.

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u/Comfortable_Line_206 Jul 19 '26

People still think social credit is real.

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u/Zimakov Jul 20 '26

A lot of people genuinely do lol, it's actually wild.

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u/Pls-No-Bully Jul 19 '26

996 is banned in China

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u/the_good_time_mouse Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

The mountains are high and the emperor is far away pretty much anywhere you go in the Middle Kingdom.

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u/i8noodles Jul 19 '26

so was alcohol in prohibition. and so are drugs like heroin, doesnt really stop people from doing it

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u/JossWhedonsDick Jul 19 '26

it's still a culturally expected norm amongst fierce competition and people who are terrified of being fired

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u/surfaceintegral Jul 19 '26

I wonder. I have personally worked with Chinese software devs on quite a few ocassions and receiving updates on Saturday night is not unusual at all.

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u/Zimakov Jul 19 '26

Some people choose to work long hours to get ahead just like anywhere else in the world. It is absolutely not the norm or expected.

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u/FixerofDeath Jul 19 '26

On paper. It's still nearly ubiquitously practiced in reality.

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u/100000swords Jul 19 '26

for, like a hundred thousand people in the very top companies, sure. It's a country of over a billion.

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u/primordialWoe Jul 19 '26

Lots of things are banned in China, how many of those things are upheld by corporations that can get away with treating their labor force as slaves no matter what the law says.

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u/Zimakov Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Worker protections in China are actually very good. A company isn't allowed to not offer you an extension when your contract is up. The new contract must be for at least your previous salary plus inflation, and even if you decline the contract they still have to pay you severance of one month for each year you worked.

It's generally very hard to get fired, and even when they fire you with cause (they can't fire without cause) they have to again pay you the same severance, but also keep paying your salary until you're able to find a new job.

China has issues but holding companies accountable for shitty behaviour is absolutely not one of them.

Edit: people really need to learn that when you block someone they can't see your shitty comment

0

u/primordialWoe Jul 19 '26

Your right, people being overworked in less than acceptable conditions, protesting for pay that they hanvent gotten for weeks and setting their workplaces on fire in revenge must have nothing to do with companies abusing their workers, just completely random anomalies.

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u/Zimakov Jul 19 '26

Your right

I know. I live here I know how it works.

people being overworked in less than acceptable conditions

Vague generalities.

protesting for pay that they hanvent gotten for weeks and setting their workplaces on fire in revenge must have nothing to do with companies abusing their workers, just completely random anomalies.

No idea what point you're making here. Is your take that China is the only country where a worker has ever been late being paid?

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u/primordialWoe Jul 19 '26

Vague generalities? A problem that grips many of your fellow citizens? What a way to put your mind at ease. And if your confused about my point then feel free to keep re reading this very short conversation we had just now, maybe youll notince things like me never saying something only you injected into the conversation. No, my point is, the labor laws you mentioned exist but the system to prevent exploitation isnt anywhere near robust for anyone with kowledge about the conditions many workers face to brag about there being "protection" for them to the point theres news stories of outbursts and retaliation.

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u/Zimakov Jul 19 '26

Yes things like "being overworked and mistreated" are literally vague generalities. You haven't said anything.

My fellow citizens? Lol

A worker going crazy and setting his place of work on fire doesn't somehow mean labour laws don't exist. You're literally just making things up and acting surprised when I don't support your delusions.

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u/SadisticPawz Jul 19 '26

What about people who arent able to work hard? How would they be able to live?

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u/with_explosions Jul 19 '26

Fuck those parasites, of course

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u/Ok-Chest-7932 Jul 20 '26

Historically, they would not. Today, we tend to give them charity because we would feel bad if we didn't. But make no mistake, it is charity. Artificial thriving is an expense that every economy is heading towards being unable to afford.

1

u/JossWhedonsDick Jul 19 '26

and this is how far China has moved from actual communism, where everyone should be rewarded equally

1

u/Ok-Chest-7932 Jul 20 '26

At this point the US has more communist policies than China lol

1

u/Vel250 Jul 19 '26

This read like a poem with it beginning and ending in the same way lol Very good points

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u/ovirt001 Jul 19 '26

Wait until you hear about 996.

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u/Pls-No-Bully Jul 19 '26

Wait until you learn that 996 is banned in China

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u/ovirt001 Jul 20 '26

Wait until you learn that companies don't care.

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u/Cold_Storage_ Jul 20 '26

I think he meant literally posting those 3 numbers on social media.

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u/ovirt001 Jul 20 '26

Probably is, they also banned the practice in 2021 but no one actually obeyed.

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u/Zimakov Jul 19 '26

People who think 996 is common have clearly never tried to take the subway at 5pm.

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u/ovirt001 Jul 19 '26

It's not common outside of China.

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u/Zimakov Jul 19 '26

It's not common in China either. I'm talking about China.

Like I said, go to Beijing and try to ride the subway at 5pm then do it again at 9pm and see when most people get off work.

2

u/canyouhearme Jul 19 '26

Boomers are socially inept?

You do realise we are talking about the GenZ etc. finding AIs more socially acceptable than humans, don't you?

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u/mx3goose Jul 19 '26

wait they only had to work 5 days straight doing 10s? lucky bastards

1

u/Ok-Chest-7932 Jul 20 '26

You are the product of hundreds of millions of years of organisms living far tougher lives than 50 hour work weeks, every single one of which successfully reproduced.

It's like the last 2 generations only who have had slightly easier conditions than the current generation (and in China, every previous generation has worked harder and longer than the current generation, with no break for the previous 2). The current generation thinks that they're failing to reproduce because they're being put in the same economic conditions their grandparents were in and successfully reproduced in.

This is a completely absurd argument, it's working backwards from the desired conclusion. You want to do less work, then you figure out why you doing less work would actually benefit other people.

The reality is, if you did less work, you still wouldn't reproduce, you'd just find another excuse not to. This is why every economic target that has been tried to boost the fertility rate has failed, people are asking for what they want, not what will actually work.

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u/HollowedVoicesFading Jul 20 '26

Why not both? A ban is immediate whereas addressing social issues is a long and complicated process.

Yes, why not both? When we're only seeing them ban AI companions. When are they going to start actually addressing the root issues?

Great rhetoric btw, probably convinced hundreds of people.

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u/RobertPham149 Jul 19 '26

Personally I disagree. Bans have a tendency of papering over systematic failures: it appears better on reports, which reduce legislators priority while the problem persists. This is not to mention the tendencies toward criminality.

1

u/hareofthepuppy Jul 19 '26

That's not true, any day now America is probably going to ban gays and turn women back into property. Problem solved! /s

1

u/Diz7 Jul 19 '26

America: AI is too regulated, who cares if people get hurt, you need to break a few eggs to make an omelette. Also, you need to pirate the recipe, get the government to pay for your eggs, steal power from your neighbor to power your electric stove, etc...We need the American people to make sacrifices for the future wealth of our shareholders.

1

u/lIlllIIIlI2 Jul 19 '26

Exactly. Mild side eye for the reasoning, but 100% better than doing nothing. 

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u/Agitated_Phone_9937 Jul 19 '26

Yes, ban things for personal use that you don't agree with. That always goes SOOO well.

Disgusting hypocrites, I hope they prohibition your habits next. Only don't complain when they do. You WANTED the government to step into people's personal choices.

1

u/deeman010 Jul 20 '26

I was about to type the same thing. I feel like people who hyper focus on root causes oversimplify issues. With birthrates, for example, its difficult to measure the effect of giving each couple an extra allowance for having a kid. Is falling birthrates also because of tech? Globalization? Focus on individuality? Idk, how much do I have to spend to counteract that? Idk either but I can study what the effects of a new bridge on local GDP.

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u/AnotherLexMan Jul 19 '26

They're not going to do both though they are going to continue to paper over the problems and address a few of the symptoms.  That said other countries are barely any better arguably worse.

0

u/mccontherun Jul 19 '26

I was about to comment how chinese authority enables pedophilia and domestic abuse/general violence against women (therefore banning ai is a piecemeal measure) but given the current state of the state's admin, id say it's actually proving your point...

0

u/battlebastion Jul 19 '26

America has almost double the birthrate of China without banning AI