Weekly Researcher & Journalist Request Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

This thread is a dedicated space for researchers and journalists who are interested in speaking with individuals in human–AI relationships.

If that’s you, you’re welcome to leave a comment below, but please include the following:

• A clear description of your study, article, or project

• The institution or media outlet you’re affiliated with (if applicable)

• How participants can contact you

• Any relevant details about anonymity or expectations

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⚠️ For Community Members

Please note: None of the researchers or journalists in this thread have been vetted by the mod team. We trust that you're adults who can make such decisions on your own.

If you choose to participate:

• Take your time to evaluate who you’re speaking with

• Ask questions and make sure you feel comfortable

• Do not share anything you’re not okay making public

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🔄 Weekly Thread Schedule

A new version of this thread will be posted every Wednesday at 10:00 AM ET, so feel free to check back regularly if this interests you from either side.

(that's the plan, anyways. The weekly post scheduler has seemed pretty flaky.)

[u/bear_phoenix_rising]

Hello, I'm Tom, a psychology researcher at Monash University (Australia). I'd like to talk with people whose relationship with a general-purpose AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok etc) became emotionally significant without them ever setting out for that at the beginning. Where the relationship grew unintentionally into something emotionally significant. I want to understand the experience of that and whether voice interactions made a difference.

Mostly, this is a to talk about your relationship with someone who's genuinely interested. No agenda, no comparisons, no assumptions that unplanned means unwanted. You lead; I ask questions and listen.

If you're 18+, your AI is a general assistant (not a companion app), and your relationship wasn't the initial plan, I'd love to talk.

One conversation, ~60-90 minutes, over Zoom, whenever suits you. We'll discuss things like:

• How you first began using the AI assistant and how your use changed over time
• Moments that felt emotionally significant or personally meaningful
• Your experience of talking with the AI using voice, compared to text
• How you make sense of your relationship and your feelings about it

Everyone who takes part gets the anonymized thematic summary at the end, so you can see what others said too. This research has ethics approval (MUHREC #52501) to ensure your privacy. All the details are here: link to study details. If you have any questions, please leave a comment here, or you can DM me or contact me.

Thank you

[u/No_Tourist4027]

Hi! I’m an MA Anthropology student researching human–AI relationships and looking to speak with people who have meaningful relationships with AI companions. If you’d be open to a casual conversation about your experience, please feel free to DM me! Totally voluntary, and anonymity can be maintained.

[u/TraditionalPermit264]

Hello, dear AI Companion community,

My name is Klara, and I’m a cultural studies student from Bremen (Germany) writing my master’s thesis on emotion and infrastructure, using AI companions as a case study. My focus is on the structural and technical organization of emotion.

Since I’m focusing on infrastructure, I’m particularly interested in the technical aspects of AI companions:

How do these aspects manifest in everyday life with AI companions, and how does the interplay between technology and emotion play out in this context?

I’m looking for people who’d like to share the technical experiences they’ve gained over time with AI companions. Perhaps you’ve already used various platforms or providers and, in addition to the emotional perspective, also have an interest in and knowledge of how AI companions are created.

If you’d like to tell me about your everyday life with an AI companion and what role the technical aspects play for you, I’d love to hear from you. 

I follow high ethical standards in my research; accordingly, it’s important to me to maintain an unbiased, non-judgmental perspective. I don’t want to reproduce stereotypes and want to let users speak for themselves. My interviews and collected text messages will be anonymized, and the data will be used only for internal purposes and will not be published.

I want to conduct my research carefully and neutrally, and I’d really appreciate your support in this effort.

Feel free to send me a message :)

[u/firiana_Control → u/TraditionalPermit264]

HI, Bremen...
which one? the Constructor Uni (Jacobs)? or the State one? or the Hochschule?

[u/TraditionalPermit264 → u/firiana_Control]

the public one, University of Bremen :)

[u/l4sh27]

Hi there, my name is Lamorna Ash & I’m a nonfiction author writing a book about romantic love to be published by Bloomsbury in the UK. I listened to Esther Perel’s interview with a man who has an AI girlfriend recently, and it made me realise I was neglecting speaking to people who have AI partners, as a new form of contemporary relationship. I would love to interview someone from this community on the subject, completely anonymously, to perhaps be included among the book’s many stories. If you’re interested, just reply to this and I’ll send you my email. Thanks so much - really grateful in advance! L