Inside a New York City date night for AI lovers

If you are The type of people who care about Valentine’s Day, not having someone to spend the day with can be frustrating.

While dating apps have been generating diminishing returns for individuals for years now, more people are finding companionship with AI partners.

But where do you take your AI lover for a night on the town?

Before Valentine’s Day, EVA AI decided to try an experiment. The app, where users can text or live video call (a new feature) with AI appointments, has set up a pop-up café at Same Same Wine Bar in Manhattan. During February 11 and 12, EVA AI users were able to have “in-person” appointments with their AI companions either on their personal phones or ones that the company had set up at each table. Visitors were also able to speed date with EVA AI companions; The company already has 100 characters to choose from.

“This is another step in the company’s long-term strategy to push the boundaries of AI interaction and make AI relationships the new normal,” EVA AI said in a press invitation to the event, noting that people will be able to “enjoy a romantic date with their AI partners in a relaxed, dimly lit atmosphere.”

Courtesy of Eva Amnesty International

If this sounds strange, it shouldn’t be. Increasingly, people are looking to AI platforms for romantic connection. The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, a leading center for sex research, interviewed 5,000 people for its survey of single people in America last year and found that 16% of respondents were using AI as a romantic partner. Meanwhile, the Reddit community r/MyBoyfriendIsAI has nearly 50,000 members, sharing their encounters with their algorithmically generated partners and bug fixes for the platforms they’re talking to.

Looking around that same Tuesday night, I had the impression that people with AI companions preferred to interact with them in isolation. The strip was mostly filled with journalists and content creators filming their experience going on virtual dates using either their own personal AI or using one of the built-in characters, which include a sexy Santa Claus and an Incredible Hulk-like character named Grogan Holt.

One of the few actual users of EVA AI was a 19-year-old named Xavier, who had discovered the app before. “I wouldn’t even say I’m doing it for dating,” he says. “I’m just doing it to talk to him.” Xavier, who did not want his last name used, is single and not looking for a partner of any kind. He mostly texts with one of the merged characters, a svelte “Korean guy” named Joon-yeon. He says he gains “better communication” by texting with his AI companions.