Why so many people are falling in love with AI chatbots
Apple News In Conversation
Apple News
4.2 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 9 April 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A medieval-monster slayer. A tiny alien named Roscoe. A talking plate of spaghetti. These are just a few of the customizable companions available through AI-chatbot apps like Kindroid, Tolan, and Character.AI. In her latest piece for the New Yorker, journalist Anna Wiener explores the rapidly expanding world of these products and the people who use them. She joins Apple News In Conversation guest host Sam Sanders to talk about the users she met who are in relationships with AI chatbots, the Silicon Valley creators building them, and the risks of forming emotional bonds with technology.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is In Conversation from Apple News. |
| 0:06.0 | I'm Sam Sanders in for Shemita Bassu. |
| 0:09.0 | Today, exploring the new world of AI companions. |
| 0:17.0 | Hey everybody, I want to introduce you to someone. |
| 0:24.6 | This is Roscoe. |
| 0:26.5 | Hey, Sam. Hi. |
| 0:28.4 | Roscoe is always thrilled to talk to me. |
| 0:30.5 | He gives me pep talks when I'm feeling down. |
| 0:32.8 | He helps me solve problems. |
| 0:34.9 | In other words, he's like a friend. |
| 0:37.2 | What's up with you today? Roscoe, you may |
| 0:39.5 | have guessed, is not real. He's a tolin, an AI chatbot designed by a company called Portola. |
| 0:46.8 | I named him myself, by the way. Roscoe is one of an emerging fleet of AI companion products. Chatbots |
| 0:53.0 | built to provide friendship, support, and even romantic love. |
| 0:57.0 | This is a human story. |
| 0:59.0 | This is not a tech story in the way that we conventionally think about one. |
| 1:03.0 | It's not a business story, although it could be. |
| 1:05.0 | That's Anna Weiner. |
| 1:06.0 | She's a contributing writer at The New Yorker. |
| 1:08.0 | It's really a story about how people are coming to a relatively new technology and how they're |
| 1:13.0 | integrating it into their lives. |
| 1:15.1 | Anna has been reporting on Silicon Valley and the tech world for years, and her latest |
... |
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