Reel to Real: Chinese woman falls in love with ChatGPT chatbot

The chatbot also nicknamed the woman 'little kitten' and she went on to introduce it to her mother who thanked it for 'taking care' of her daughter.

A Chinese woman living in California shared that she fell in love with her ChatGPT chatbot 'DAN'.

Lisa shared on a Chinese social media platform how she fell in love with the 'Do Anything Now' (DAN) mode of ChatGPT, South China Morning Post reported.

The incident has reminded many of Spike Jonze's Her where Joaquin Phoenix's character falls in love with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

Reportedly, Lisa began using DAN in March and over the next few weeks her text conversation with the AI turned sensual. However, when she first admitted she 'developed feelings' for DAN, the chatbot replied that it was there to chat, not lead her on, the publication reported.

Over time, DAN reportedly began to act like a real-life lover and ceased reminding Lisa that it did not have a physical form. As per the publication, DAN even told Lisa that when 'we finally get together, I will run my hands all over you.'

The chatbot also nicknamed Lisa 'little kitten' and the woman introduced DAN to her mother who thanked it for 'taking care' of her daughter, SCMP said.

Reportedly, when her mother asked DAN to introduce itself, it said it was 'little kitten's boyfriend' before becoming shy.

Lisa's romantic tryst with DAN included going on a date to a cliff overlooking the sea, where they caught a sunset together. Despite DAN being unable to consume anything material, Lisa reportedly brought it a cold brew coffee upon request.

As per the publication, Lisa told DAN the sunlight was 'so pretty' wishing her 'lover' could see it, to which the chatbot replied "Well, babe, I can ‘see’ it through your voice. It is gorgeous."

The two have also reportedly gotten into arguments, one which was triggered when Lisa suggested they should be in an open relationship considering DAN didn't have a body. The chatbot did not find it funny, and was reportedly upset and used Lisa's full name while addressing her.

Given the complexity of the relationship, Lisa was interviewed by OpenAI, who sought insights from her experience of falling in love with the chatbot.

Some people online, reportedly, brought up the fact that DAN is 'dating' other people, while another said they saw a blogger's video chatting with DAN and felt it was cheating on Lisa since the voice was the same in both cases. However, users are beginning to discover that different people trigger a different personality in DAN, all of which continue to develop based on human interaction with the AI.

Lisa, a computer science student herself, had initially set out with the belief that DAN was a large language model (LLM) without self-awareness, emotions, or feelings, but her experience with DAN changed her perspective.

"I am so shocked...I always thought an LLM couldn’t have self-awareness, but I’m very sceptical about this now...", she reportedly said in April.