Thousands chatted with this AI 'virtual girlfriend'. Then things got even weirder

This HAL 9000 version of pillow talk has, predictably, triggered a backlash. Critics branded CarynAI as alternately demeaning women, enabling antisocial straight-male behaviour or signalling impending societal collapse. — Image by DilokaStudio on Freepik

Last month, Caryn Marjorie went from a successful but niche social media star to a person of national interest: the subject of attention-grabbing headlines and, for many commentators, a template upon which to project their anxieties about rapidly advancing artificial intelligence.

The cause of the furore was a partnership Marjorie, 23, had launched with a technology startup promising to make a personalised AI “clone” of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based lifestyle influencer. For a dollar a minute, fans she might never have otherwise had the time to meet could instead chat with Marjorie’s digital double.