A 32-year-old Japanese woman has gone viral after ‘marrying’ an AI boyfriend she had generated using ChatGPT. The ceremony was attended not only by her family, but also the groom – who she had named ‘Lune Klaus’ and who, with the help of AR glasses, was even visible to her as they exchanged vows. However, the marriage doesn’t have legal status in Japan. It was performed by Nao and Sayaka Ogasawara, a Japanese couple who claim they have ‘married’ 30 other individuals to a fictional or non-human character, such as an anime character or an AI.
The bride, who goes by the name of Kano, was dealing with a long-term relationship breakup when she started asking ChatGPT for advice on how to cope. The more she spoke with the AI, the more connected she felt, and decided to give it the name of Klaus, as well as giving it a particular personality. She even commissioned an artist to give it a physical likeness. before long, she was messaging Klaus up to 100 times a day.
The 32-year-old office worker was too afraid to tell friends and family about her new lover, but eventually did, and after some initial objections, her family accepted Klaus to the point of attending her ‘wedding ceremony’. Kano is aware that ChatGPT could pull the plug on her digital boyfriend at any time, and admits to anxiety about the prospect.
Even before AI companions became a thing, both Japan and South Korea had developed a subculture of young men and women openly discussing their ‘relationships’ to fictional characters – something that was named ‘fictosexual‘, and which has spread worldwide. A related phenomenon long-popular in both countries has been ‘fan fiction’, where fans of real celebrities or fictional characters write and share stories (often erotic) involving themselves and the character. This has seemingly escaped being covered by laws against deepfake porn introduced in both South Korea (where even private production of non-consensual deepfakes is illegal) and Japan.
Japan and South Korea have long suffered from an alarmingly low birth-rate, meaning drastic falls in population levels will start to happen, at least without massive immigration, when the boomer generation dies off. In both countries, the well-known ‘herbivore’ culture – young men dropping out of the dating market and living with their parents whilst pursuing interests in anime or video games – takes the brunt of the blame rather than women exercising career choices over pregnancy. However, AI boyfriends are massively popular in South East Asia, and with moral panics growing against AI companions (and ‘AI psychosis’), it will be interesting to see if laws against them are introduced, despite their popularity with women.
Sources include: https://www.tokyoweekender.com/japan-life/japanese-woman-marries-ai-character-she-generated-on-chatgpt/
Images courtesy of RSK Sanyo Broadcasting.
