James Muldoon LOVE MACHINES

Love Machines

Friends. Lovers. Therapists. 'Deathbots'. AI is taking on unprecedented roles for millions of us every day - but how are these new 'relationships' rewiring us?

Beyond those who are using chatbots for everyday tasks, many are turning to them as friends, mentors and sexual and romantic partners. Some are men who are preparing to adopt children with their AI partners; others are reaching out to companies offering 'deathbot' services based on a deceased loved one's text messages and voicemails; others still look to therapy bots to find treatment for their mental health issues.

In Love Machines, James Muldoon examines these new forms of love, intimacy and connection, drawing on myriad interviews with users and developers from around the world - as well as psychologists, academics and chatbots themselves. As he navigates these interactions, Muldoon asks whether they might one day be a replacement for the relationships we have with each other, while also revealing how the unregulated corporations facilitating them are seeking to profit from an emerging 'loneliness economy'.

As the line between the digital and the real becomes increasingly blurred, and in a world that feels lonelier by the day, Love Machines is a timely survey of the next generation of human-computer relationships - and how they are not only changing our relationship with technology, but with each other.

James Muldoon

James Muldoon is a sociologist whose work explores the human side of artificial intelligence and other technologies. His new book, Love Machines, investigates how people form relationships with AI — as friends, intimate partners, therapists and even with digital versions of deceased loved ones.

He is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Management at the Essex Business School and a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute.

His broader research reveals the hidden human labour and global supply chains that make artificial intelligence possible, and how digital work is transforming sectors from ride-hailing and food delivery to childcare and domestic work.