This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. Good morning, I'm Rachel Martin. Now ...

San Francisco-based AI chatbot maker, Replika-- which operates a freemium 'virtual friendship' service based on customizable digital avatars whose "personalized" responses are powered by artificial ...

Netflix’s newest documentary, Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, will make you think of many things regarding family and virtual friendships. One, Netflix, headquartered in Los Gatos, California, ...

The following, slightly adapted, was my introduction of Christine Rosen this morning when she gave one in this year’s series of the John Henry Cardinal Newman Lectures of the Institute for the ...

As much as we enjoy visually appealing avatars, or are entertained by following the exploits of brave superheroes, we know the difference between fact and fiction. We can tell the difference between a ...

Looking back, it is almost unbelievable how our friendship began—not in a bustling coffee shop, on a work platform, in a classroom, or during a night out, but in little squares on a screen, pixels ...

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. Commentator Peter Sagal recently ...

China has drawn a regulatory line around AI companions, chatbots, and virtual friends, and the deadline to comply is less than three months away. On April 10, 2026, five of China’s most powerful ...

Gizmodo is 20 years old! To celebrate the anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the most significant ways our lives have been thrown for a loop by our digital tools. Virtual friends have been ...

San Francisco-based AI chatbot maker, Replika — which operates a freemium ‘virtual friendship’ service based on customizable digital avatars whose “personalized” responses are powered by artificial ...