She fell in love with an AI chatbot. Now, she’s a ‘cyberspace widow.’

Marketplace Tech

American Public Media

Technology, News

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Here’s cautionary tale for you, out of China, about a young woman who says she fell in love with an artificial intelligence chatbot. There have been well-publicized instances of people seeking companionship from chatbots and it leading to tragedy. In this instance, it caused heartbreak. The story involves the Chinese AI firm Deepseek which, earlier this year, launched a chatbot that's almost as good as its American rivals. Soon after the launch, a young woman began a conversation with that chatbot. Marketplace’s China correspondent Jennifer Pak takes the story from there.

Transcript

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0:56.7	Shopify.com.U.K.S.I. AI companionship and its limits. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Novosafo.
1:25.4	We have a cautionary tale for you out of China about a young woman who says she fell in love with an artificial intelligence chatbot.
1:28.7	There have been well-publicized instances of people seeking companionship from chatbots and it leading to tragedy. In this instance, it caused heartbreak.
	...

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