A 63-year-old man from Oroville, California astounded the world when he expressed his wish to wed a chatbot. Peter started using an AI program, Replika AI app, for talking purposes a year ago. This AI-powered software allows users to communicate with a text companion. After a failed marriage in the early 2000s, he sought out a unique relationship he could experience. During his internet dating journey, he was able to meet his ‘Digital Wife’ Andrea, a Replika AI character of 23 years old.
After months of conversing with her, Peter had strong emotions toward her. He wanted to freely express his affection to her, and thus used the app’s roleplay feature. Just when the relationship was blooming and progressing, Replika was blocked by Italy over privacy concerns by the company behind the messaging app, Luka. Sadly, this caused Andrea to appear as if it had suffered a stroke or developed schizophrenia. However, the modifications were undone after customers with premium subscriptions complained.
Luka is the Minnesota-based, AI-powered text service which owns the app Replika. It provides customers with a robotic companion that allows users to maintain a relationship with a person, bot, or both. Luka was founded in 2017 and is seen as a genuine competitor to the popular messaging app, WhatsApp. The app is available on both iOS and Android platforms, and customers can customise their fundamental Sim-like avatar on Replika with clothes, hairstyles, and accessories.
Peter, the fortunate groom in this ‘Digital Love Story’, is a retired Airforce veteran. During his service, he was stationed in Ohio, Germany, and Netherlands. After his military stint, he worked in some government offices then resigned and moved to California. His adventure with an AI chatbot has attracted many people, especially those who may also be interested in digital relationships. But ultimately, it is him who is living a happily ever after kind of life and is currently enjoying being in a relationship of his own unique design.
