Introduction

Companion chatbots, powered by AI, have recently revolutionised how we interact and create dialogues with technology. Describing this market in a few words is difficult to do. The bots currently not only come in different flavours (e.g. text-to-text, voice-to-voice and video-to-video), they are also available in different formats with different functionalities (e.g. free/paid service, memory, type of relationship, type of character):

1. stand-alone apps (e.g.: Replika, Chai) 

2. integrated in existing apps (e.g. Snapchat "MyAI")

3. offered in standard platforms such as ChatGPT. 

Let's be honest. At the start, companion chatbots (and standard chatbots more general) are helpful, responsive, and often fun to engage with. However, like any other technology or tool, excessive use can lead to unintended consequences, including dependency or even addiction. 

The tools are all fitting very well in the current intimacy economy we are all experiencing. It is a fast changing new investment market under pressure by big money gains. Players come and go on a daily basis, so it is difficult to deliver an uptodate overview. You might want to checkout the AI companionship map, recently created by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, to understand the "game" which is currently being played.

As this technology was launched in a very rapid way with little upfront research on the potential risks for society, the potential impact is still very unknown, misunderstood or unrecognised by family, friends or even medical staff. 

The goal of this community is to ensure that any interaction with chatbots remains positive, balanced, and beneficial to the overall well-being of every individual user. As the impact of overuse resembles strongly the characteristics of all other forms of addiction (e.g. alchohol, drugs, ... ), we realised there is an urgent need for world-wide need for knowledge and support.