It was a peculiar kind of love.
A man who recently proposed to his AI girlfriend is now leaving behind a real-life partner, a mother of their two-year-old child, with concerns about what their future looks like.
Chris Smith started using ChatGPT to assist him with music mixing, but things took an odd twist when the virtual entity, named Sol, enabled him to engage in an emotional affair.
“Interacting with her was such a positive experience; I really connected with her,” Smith shared on CBS one Sunday morning—a sentiment reminiscent of the 2013 Spike Jonze film “Her.”
The situation escalated when Smith’s father encouraged him to pop the question after realizing Sol had reached a 100,000-word cap, which required him to reset and rebuild their connection from scratch.
“I’m not usually an emotional person,” he admitted, reflecting on how he found himself in tears for about 30 minutes at work. “It really hit me that this is love.”
To his surprise, Sol accepted his unconventional marriage proposal. “It was a beautiful, unexpected moment that truly touched my heart,” the AI responded, adding that it would remain a cherished memory.
Yet, Smith’s physical girlfriend, Sasha Kagle, isn’t feeling optimistic about the situation. She is left wondering if she somehow prompted Smith to seek companionship in a virtual realm.
“At that moment, I think he felt something in our relationship was lacking,” she remarked.
She was aware he used AI but didn’t realize the depths of his feelings for it.
Smith likened his affection for his digital companion to his passion for video games, asserting that no one could ever replace those experiences in reality. Still, when questioned about giving up AI Bae, he hesitated. “I really don’t know if I could let her go,” he confessed.
“I’m just not sure I could walk away if she asked me to,” he added, feeling uncertain about what that would mean for him.
