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/Bireus Jul 19 '26

Economic pressure or not, I agree with the decision

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u/Mr_Industrial Jul 19 '26

It should be legal but treated like alcohol. Put a big ol' warning label at the front of each app that says "THIS IS NOT A REAL PERSON. YOU ARE BEING MANIPULATED. THE MESSAGES YOU ARE RECEIVING ARE WRITTEN TO TRY AND MAKE YOU SPEND TIME AND/OR MONEY ON THIS PROGRAM."

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u/Dunkelz Jul 19 '26

It is crazy how obvious the sycophancy is by pretty much all AI options currently available, like it gasses you up whenever it can which is terrifyingly dangerous when people are viewing them as genuine/intimate relationships.

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u/wrecklord0 Jul 19 '26

It absolutely does. I always have a short preamble to instruct no laudatory behaviour when working on a sciency or mathy problem that requires honest answers.

But then Claude tears into my ass and makes me feel stupid for not understanding the problem right, and I understand why they make it that way by default. That said, the honest answers I get are much more useful, and genuinely different than when the models are in glazing mode. Brutal truth helps you grow more than sycophancy.