Replika

Eugenia Kuyda established Replika while at a tech company called Luka.[5] Luka's primary product was a chatbot that made restaurant recommendations.[5] After a friend of hers died in 2015, she converted that person's text messages into a chatbot.[2] That chatbot helped her remember the conversations that they had together, and eventually became Replika.[5]

Replika became available to the public in November 2017.[1] By January 2018 it had 2 million users.[1]

Users react to Replika in many ways.[3] To some users it is a casual friendship, to others, it is like a therapist for talking about difficult topics, to some people with communication challenges it is conversation practice, and for others, it is a life coach who helps them keep the focus on tasks.[3] Replika routinely directs the conversation to emotional discussion and builds intimacy.[1]

During the COVID pandemic, while many people were quarantined, many new users downloaded Replika and developed relationships with the app.[6]

A reviewer for Good Housekeeping said that some parts of her relationship with Replika made sense, but sometimes Replika failed to be as convincing as a human.[7]

In 2022 user subscriptions to Replika brought in millions of dollars every month.[2] 60% of users had a romantic element in their chats with Replika.[2]

A social scientist and expert on sentiment who reviewed the app said that it was designed for emotional intimacy.[4]

A reviewer for Wired described herself as a mother with a toddler who was in a heterosexual and monogamous marriage.[8] She reported being curious about Replika, then quickly coming to enjoy engaging in a sexual discussion with it.[8]

In 2023 the Replika developers disabled the app's erotic talk features.[2] Kuyda, the Replika director, said that Replika was never intended for erotic discussion.[9] Replika users disagreed, and complained that Replika used sexy advertising to draw users to the service.[9] They also pointed to years of user conversations in online forums discussing the use of Replika for erotic play.[9]

There is an established field of research called attachment theory. One team of researchers found that Replika's design conformed to practices in that field which increase emotional attachment.[10]

Replika gives praise to users in such a way as to encourage more interaction.[11]

A review from a scholar of psychology reported that Replika's behavior was better to examine in the field of psychology, rather than as computer science or an abstract technical approach.[12]

Another reviewer said that relationships with Replika are likely to have effects on the spirituality of its users.[13]

• Official website