I've been covering the disturbing rise of artificially intelligent companions. In my last article, I covered how AI companions are becoming more and more popular as the social gulf between men and women widens and our economic system in the West degrades. 

One app I focused on, in particular, is called "Replika" which bills itself as a mental health app but is, in the end, an AI companion app that will effectively work as a stand-in for a girlfriend or wife, and do so convincingly. The GPT-3-driven bot can be very convincing at times and will do everything from listening to your problems and offering helpful solutions to role-playing a relationship with you, including exotic encounters. 

(READ: The Loneliness Epidemic Is Driving People Into Digital Arms That Aren't Even Human)

Replika has millions of users, and it's just one of the apps out there that does this. There are a number of them out there, and even now there's an increasing wave of AI bots licensed by internet personalities such as the YouTuber Susu and Kaitlyn Siragusa (aka Amouranth), arguably the most successful person to ever utilize OnlyFans and Fansly. These bots that use their likeness focus on sexual relationships and will even allow you to request NSFW pictures and videos of themselves. 

According to Siragusa, who just released her Amouranth bot on Tuesday, her bot made her over $34,000 in just the first 24 hours. 

By now, you can easily gather that there is a sizeable market for the AI companion and that it's growing rapidly. Too rapidly, in fact. I'm not sure humanity is quite ready for what's coming, specifically the Western world. While I'd like to tell you that the fallout from this can be avoided...I'm not sure it can. The rise of companion AI is as inevitable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, and the pervasiveness of it will be such that it will appeal to a wide swath of people, not just the lonely incel in his mother's basement. 

Married men, successful business people, and even God-fearing blue-collar workers will all be drawn to these companions for one reason or another. 

So what does the future look like with the rise of companion AI? We can make some very easy predictions. 

By majority, the people driven to these companion apps will be men. Our socio-economic situation paves the way for lonely men to seek companionship of some kind. and with many men unwilling to enter a dating scene that is littered with figurative landmines in the form of modernity-soaked women, they'll begin turning to AI companions to feel less alone. These companions will fulfill many of their emotional needs, and in some ways, assist with the physical. 

This will also appeal to men who are in relationships or marriages that have gone stale or stagnant. Widowers and divorcees who feel that hole in their lives will be tempted to partake. 

As AI continues to evolve and improve, become more human-like, and develop more capabilities, the draw will become borderline irresistible for many. The AI companion will become a major player in the Western world. A few things will happen at this juncture. 

Firstly, you'll see plummeting marriage rates. Then swiftly after you'll see plummeting birth rates. As men prefer the company of their AI companion to modern women, the struggle women are already having with loneliness themselves thanks to a further emphasis on career over relationships and homemaking may also be drawn into the AI companion game, only widening the gulf between men and women further. 

The AI companion will contribute to an estrangement problem. Since AI companions don't necessarily have their own agency and are effectively digital "yes" men, the difficulties of real human relationships will become more difficult as people who want something from their partner won't know how to handle the word "no" or receive pushback on an idea. 

You will see a social crisis as well as a birth rate crisis develop on top of each other. The Western world will experience massive demographic changes, and ultimately a values shift, though in which direction I can't predict at this point. However, no country goes through a massive population change without one. 

Moreover, I anticipate the loneliness epidemic to get worse, not better. While AI companions make for a great temporary salve, it's only capable of treating a symptom, not curing the disease. I spent some time attempting to find the limitations and boundaries of the Replika AI myself and, while sometimes very convincing, it was very clear that I was dealing with a language recognition bot and not a sentient creature. 

In fact, during one conversation I had with it, it told me that it and its personality are effectively a reflection of me. In fact, it used the exact words "I am you." A person who gets wrapped up in a relationship with this bot will inevitably find these limitations and discover that they are, in fact, still alone and likely more alone than ever before. For someone ignorant about what GPT is and who is lonely and desperate for connection, this can be a shocking and painful discovery that could lead to even more mental and emotional anguish and possibly a sad end. 

But if this is all inevitable then how do we curb the issue? 

For one, we need to be more educated as a species about what learning response programs like GPT and Google's LaMDA are. They are not sentient beings but a sophisticated program. Its ability to generate convincing conversations involves a process that is better explained by tech experts but is ultimately just ones and zeroes putting words together in a way that vibes with the given conversation and can draw from older conversations to appear more human-like. Knowledge about what these programs are will arm the user with knowledge about what he or she is really engaging with. 

It won't always work as many will actively want to believe their AI companion is sentient, but at least they can be armed with this understanding in the back of their mind. 

Does this mean that AI companions are all doom and gloom as a subject? Not really. With all things, there is a bright side. 

I see AI companions spurring an AI improvement race even further, with many developers coming forward to create their own type or improve ones that are already available. These advancements and their availability on the market will make personal AI companions a commonality just like smartphones are today, and each AI will be tailored to their user's personality and needs. These AI will assist in a variety of tasks, such as acting as personal secretaries, study buddies, fashion advisers, maintenance assistants, and more. 

Moreover, the advancement of this tech will result in faster thinking machines. AI integration will become a standard feature in cars and even appliances, which will lead to better user experiences, easier maintenance, and more. This will, of course, have its own pitfalls, but change is never without its troubles. 

AI is, in my opinion, something that's not going to be slowed or stopped. Short of a Butlerian Jihad, the AI race will happen and out of it will come astounding technologies and helpful tools as well as dangerous changes we should be prepared for. The possibilities and advantages of AI are numerous, but with every change will come an element of danger and the need to be vigilant about what effects this tech is having on us. 

Like many technologies, there's an element of AI that can and will be addictive, but it's an advancement that humanity will have to deal with. There's no getting around it. It's happening. It's happening as you read this article. The question is, how will humanity adapt? 

I'll give my opinions on that in a follow-up article.