Whether an AI girlfriend counts as cheating depends on relationship rules. Studies show 40% feel betrayed if partners hide AI interactions. Establish clear boundaries and regularly discuss comfort levels to maintain trust.
Nature of Interaction
The nature of the interaction with an AI girlfriend is the key factor in whether it will be perceived as cheating. In the cases when the individual uses the AI to fulfill the emotional or romantic needs, the borders established in the sphere of human interactions are violated. As it has been mentioned previously, according to some surveys, thirty percent of individuals may feel uncomfortable if they realize that their partners are engaging romantically with an AI.
The type of interaction matters. Though the frequency might be different, if a partner spends a couple of hours per day chatting or sharing some feelings with someone regardless of the circumstances in which they are done, it has a significant potential to create a sense of separation from his or her partner. This feeling may be utilized as the measure by which the potential for cheating can be defined. The implication for couples on how to deal with the issues related to AI girl/boyfriends may involve deciding the type of interaction.
Similar to all the other topics affecting relationships, the answer to the question regarding the costs of his or her AI girlfriend should be a part of the package of rules by which both partners should abide. The need to discuss this issue means that the other partner may decide in advance how far the boundaries of potentially acceptable behavior will be. For a note, the likely amount of time spent talking was chosen that is usually enough for talking about the events of the day and sharing some experiences with a close person.
Transparency
Transparency in the use of AI girlfriend is the key factor in determining whether the use of such technology is cheating. Full disclosure of what exactly happens when a person interacts with an AI prevents any relationship misunderstandings. When a person hides the fact of interaction with technology, it is easy to detect strongly affects trust between two partners. In this case, if one partner becomes aware that the other is using an AI for conversations that conceivably can take the form of romantic talk, these discoveries take place accidentally – the second person might leave notifications on a shared device or will directly ask about it.
Moreover, a study shows that 40% of people would feel betrayed if they displeased that their partner has an AI girlfriend. Therefore, to ensure transparency in such cases, the partners must talk to each other about how they use certain technologies. To understand whether the interaction breaches boundaries, a person needs to share with their partner what topics they discuss and what AI is used for. A potential solution to this problem could be the setting of regular discussions time where both partners can go through the logs of interaction. In such a case, accidental discoveries resulting in hard feelings and misunderstandings will not take place.
Partner’s Perspective
The opinion of a partner in any definition of cheating can be an important point. People are different and make relationships differently and have distinct limits of cheating. The one partner can consider any interaction with the AI girlfriend as infidelity, while the other considers it to just be a fun pastime. Suppose the one partner prints out the following question – “When spending time with an AI girl, who else becomes a woman to your husband?” – but he doesn’t have any girlfriends, and the only contact with any girl is in a local Russian restaurant where he is a yummy guest. Since he is a harmless guest so far, he is involved in a close meeting with the waitress, and it is not even a meeting in a restaurant. This is normal communication with people if not to consider his wife and his feelings.
The data fromThe personal life of a computer installed by a person are also revealing. Her previous partner, who proposed to marry AI, had serious problems with relationships, like emotional security, with his real partner Eliza. He was not satisfied with the marital relationship, and he started communication with Eliza first to joke with her. The guy was shocked when he understood that he did not have any emotional connection with his wife, mother of three children. His virtual communication concerned matters about which he would not tell someone in real life. To create consent, partners need to sit down and start a dialogue about this problem. It is not enough to provide them with one of the TED lectures in a relationship where even the relationship itself is not discussed at all.
We need to talk and understand what we consider cheating and what is the right behavior with AI. It can be agreed that it is unacceptable to discuss your personal fears and desires. They are so personal that even meeting with an AI girlfriend is too much. In other words, they agreed on a social definition of cheating. Of course, it can be modified and expanded to improve the relationship between partners. In the opposite direction – to narrow it – it does not make sense because it is a social model. They also agreed on a tacit rule that it is not worth discussing their relationship with AI. It means that the husband does not need to say goodbye when he leaves the virtual company’s face. Instead, he understands. It is highly recommended for the couple to regularly share their experiences and thoughts with each other. It complements big monthly planning, checking each other’s feelings towards the smartphone at the first of every month.
Emotional Involvement
The degree of emotional involvement in the AI Girlfriend and AI itself is crucial to assess whether it is cheating. Emotional involvement can be as deep as to make the human partner feel replaced or undervalued when confronted with AI, like in traditional emotional cheating. If a person consults AI for specific issues and even discusses such personal matters with it, which they are unable or do not wish to talk about with their significant other, they may become more prone to encountering the phenomenon of emotional cheating .
Over 50% of the participants surveyed by Kinsey fraud, data and behavior research admitted orly emotional cheating to be as hurtful as physical cheating, as it includes secrecy, affective richness, and a shift in intimacy and trust. An effective method for controlling emotional involvement is setting simple and clear limits for discussions that can be conducted with AI. For instance, discuss the results of one’s day with AI, but share something personal or romantic only with the human partner.
Regular dyadic monitoring conversing about how each partner feels when the Other discusses or interacts with technology can be useful for analyzing the impact of AI on someone and addressing any possible uncomfortable feelings or real changes. Some actual laboratory experiments were conducted, in which sheerpresence of tools for interaction was examined; the quantity of physical and social presence in online vs. offlime conditions was measured as pure presence or social presence in order to inform which is more beneficial and in which context . It is also helpful to develop interests that do not involve AI to constantly feed to the experience both partners receive and, therefore, maintain the relationship exciting and valuable.
Rules and Boundaries
Such things are determined by rules and depend on their extent. Cheating involves violation of rules. On the other hand, having an AI girlfriend violates social norms and thus might be considered cheating by many people. Simultaneously, considering the AI as your girlfriend and interacting closely with that might be a way to define one’s self as cheating. That is why it is important to set very clear and unambiguous rules that would make your girlfriend or your boyfriend and the AI understand what kind of interactions are acceptable and what is not.
In other words, it depends on the couple of people and on how they treat the time of this kind. Being in a mutual conversation about each person’s opinion would be a good idea. For example, one person might consider spending time taking to an AI for not more than one hour a day, while another person would not be able to tolerate even general conversation, such as a discussion about the weather or some sports.
Meanwhile, the discussion about some personal things and relations might be prohibited, and in such a case, taking to AI would be more or less equivalent to watching a TV show. Taking to AI girlfriend/boyfriend could be set as a “timeless” activity that one should never do during breakfast, for example. Everything depend on the partners, and aids about the rules should be allowed and discussed freely.