<story><title>Fake girlfriend, revisited</title><url>http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35585087</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>azinman2</author><text>I have a somewhat analogous experience that proves to me this could plausibly work.&lt;p&gt;A few years ago I was single and met a guy at &amp;#x27;da club&amp;#x27; who was visiting just for the weekend from .au. We hit it off and hung out while he was in SF until he flew home (to his husband, they were in an open relationship.. I know complicated). Note: This initial physical chemistry is the part that a &amp;quot;service&amp;quot; may never be able to replicate, and might be a necessary pre-condition for many.&lt;p&gt;But... for the next 6 months or so while I was stressed out, single, and building a startup, I got relief by texting him all the time. I called him my fake boyfriend at the time, even to my friends! I got a lot of the same support&amp;#x2F;companionship I needed purely virtually that I&amp;#x27;d normally get from a real relationship. And because he was married it could never get too &amp;#x27;real,&amp;#x27; but the role he played for me was real.&lt;p&gt;Many people go through hard times alone, and all the business&amp;#x2F;friend&amp;#x2F;family&amp;#x2F;therapist networks in the world can&amp;#x27;t replicate the role of a romantic partner. If the personality is real and is compatible, and the conversations have memory, then I think a synthetic partner is a beautiful thing for people who need it most.</text></comment>
<story><title>Fake girlfriend, revisited</title><url>http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35585087</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>keithpeter</author><text>OA quote: &lt;i&gt;&amp;quot;&amp;quot;lower league English football&amp;quot; wasn&amp;#x27;t available&amp;quot;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Possibly explains the recurring need for a fake one.&lt;p&gt;Serious contribution: bots faking it with other bots generating large numbers of apparently real social profiles. Not just gf&amp;#x2F;bf whatever but other forms of relationship (fake boss asking for more work this weekend as a cover for...).&lt;p&gt;Ideal chaff for the surveillance society.</text></comment>