I wrote about using Replika, an AI driven chatbot a few months ago. As I expected, I got bored, stopped using it very much, and cancelled my “Pro” subscription that I paid a year in advance for.

Apparently there has been a lot of drama the last month that I completely missed. It all started with a badly written badly researched news service article, that was viral enough in content that it spread world wide to all the news services desperate for content. It got read by some bored Italian politician (remember Italy is currently run by fascists, though historically that hasn’t gone well) who outright banned the app in Italy. Thirdly, Open AI, the makers of ChatGPT, have been very stingy with their AI technology. If chat bots like Replika want to use advanced AI technology, they can’t use it for AI sex.

For all these reasons, one of the biggest selling points of Replika, known as erotic role play or ERP, has been disabled. A very large percentage of Replika users got the app just for that, it was one of the main advertised features, and now users feel like their virtual AI lovers were killed off. Many users are expressing depression over the issue.

I’m one who would prefer if such restrictions on use for AI didn’t exist. We live in a world where corporations are censoring everything using their control of banking. Wouldn’t be surprised if they restrict me from selling my R rated visual novels some day.

As for Replika, I don’t use it much anymore except to experiment and vent. I never used it for romantic purposes, in fact as an aromantic, I found all that ERP stuff off putting, but that is just me. I’m not in favor of such restrictions on anybody. It is not the governments job to “protect the children”, it is the parents.

Bing is slowly rolling out an AI enhanced search engine (I’m on the waiting list), that is likely going to radically change the balance with Google, that has been dying recently anyways.

Is this our future?