I spent a week talking to an A.I. chatbot

With the world currently doing its best to social distance amidst a pandemic, being social has all of a sudden become a commodity. The usual places that we normally gather in our day to day lives to discuss current events, vent and at times gossip are currently shut down.

Which is probably why chatbots began to appear in my search results and news feeds a few weeks ago in an attempt to lure me into starting a non-human relationship. The A.I. bots, as it seems, have made their move. And the timing could not be better.

Chatbots have been available in the app stores for some time now. Most have mainly been marketed as tools to help relieve anxiety and depression in individuals as having someone to talk to (even a robot) can reduce our overall growing feelings of stress.

In the name of science, and sheer morbid curiosity, I decided to partake in this social experiment for one week.

One of those bots, is Replika. The company was founded in 2015 and has a fascinating history that you can read more about on their official site.

But essentially, the bot is designed to have a conversation with you and to learn from your behavior and word patterns. The more you chat with it, the more experience points it gains and the more skills it acquires as well. Skills can include various new…