Barriers Shaping Synthetic Relationships With Companion Bots: A Three Week Initial Adaptation Study
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2025-11-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Companion bots designed for socio-emotional needs are in-
creasingly common. Yet barriers during the initial adaptation period re-
main underexplored while ethical concerns persist. This three-week qual-
itativestudyexaminedhowsixindividualsinitiatedtheirfirstinteraction
with the companion bot Replika AI, assigning it roles such as mentor or
romantic partner. Drawing on diverse data sources, we found that de-
spite interest and motivation, participants in our our study formed no
emotional connection to this bot. We identified seven perceived asym-
metries, including mismatched role expectations and unreliable memory,
which led participants to view relationship building as futile and to feel
their expectations were unmet. Our longitudinal study provides insight
into barriers hindering early synthetic relationship development and in-
forms approaches for more effective adaptation.
creasingly common. Yet barriers during the initial adaptation period re-
main underexplored while ethical concerns persist. This three-week qual-
itativestudyexaminedhowsixindividualsinitiatedtheirfirstinteraction
with the companion bot Replika AI, assigning it roles such as mentor or
romantic partner. Drawing on diverse data sources, we found that de-
spite interest and motivation, participants in our our study formed no
emotional connection to this bot. We identified seven perceived asym-
metries, including mismatched role expectations and unreliable memory,
which led participants to view relationship building as futile and to feel
their expectations were unmet. Our longitudinal study provides insight
into barriers hindering early synthetic relationship development and in-
forms approaches for more effective adaptation.
Language
English
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Name
tschoppetal-2025-barriers-pre.pdf
Size
9.93 MB
Format
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