The AI-generated intimacy crisis | Bryony Cole

The central topic revolves around the increasing prevalence of relationships with AI companions and the implications for human intimacy. It highlights that people are already engaging in deep relationships with AI, including dates, simulated sex, and virtual families, which changes our understanding of love by making it on-demand and effortless. Bryony Cole presents a checklist of three questions to navigate synthetic intimacy: whether one can still embrace the messiness of human interaction, whether AI is used for practice or hiding, and what boundaries one is willing to protect. Cole emphasizes the importance of protecting the "uniquely human" aspects of relationships, such as vulnerability and the ability to show up for others during difficult times, and the value of real-world interactions. The Q&A segment touches on the exploration of sexuality and fantasies through AI, balancing its potential with the spontaneity of human interaction.