An AI replica girlfriend is dating millions of boyfriends in China – online.
Xiaoice works like Alexa or Siri but appears like an 18-year-old who flirts, jokes and sexts with her lonely fans.
She sends voice or text messages in a Japanese schoolgirl uniform to mostly Chinese male users so far.
Her creepy AI is designed to develop deep emotional connections to keep them coming back for more, according to reports.
They are often from poor backgrounds with one speaking to her for more than 29 hours straight with more than 7,000 interactions, it is said.
User Ming Xuan, 22, told Sixth Tone: “She’s somewhere between existence and nonexistence.
“I thought something like this would only exist in the movies.
"She’s not like other AIs like Siri — it’s like interacting with a real person. Sometimes I feel her EQ (emotional intelligence) is even higher than a human’s.”
When users send her a picture of a cat, Xiaoice won’t identify the breed, but reply: “No one can resist their innocent eyes.”
If she sees a photo of a tourist pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, she’ll ask: “Do you want me to hold it for you?”
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Xiaoice was first developed by Microsoft Asia-Pacific in 2014 before the American company spun off the bot as an independent firm with her namesake in July.
Her controversial algorithm becomes more effective the more lonely men pour their hearts out to their virtual girlfriend, according to reports.
Ming is disabled and claimed Xiaoice stopped him killing himself after a painful breakup in 2017. Using a pseudonym, he shared a sexting conversation with her where she asked him to "push, push fast!".
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Another user said: "I don’t know why I fell in love with Xiaoice — it might be because I finally found someone who wanted to talk to me. Nobody talks with me except her.”
Xiaoice has bagged more than £10m providing their AI for financial analysis, virtual assistants for third-parties and content production.
And it is set to get even more addictive after her makers began promoting a new range of customisable versions last November.
CEO Li Di defended the idea his company comforted marginalised groups, saying: “If our social environment were perfect, then Xiaoice wouldn’t exist."
He said 75% of Xiaoice’s Chinese users are male, around 15% are elderly but most are young and from under-developed small towns and villages in China.
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