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She Fell in Love With ChatGPT: An Update

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since. Warning: This episode discusses sexual themes. Artificial intelligence has changed how millions of people write emails, conduct research and seek advice. Kashmir Hill, who covers technology and privacy for The New York Times, tells the story of a woman whose relationship with a chatbot when much further than that.
Duration
23m
Broadcast on
31 Dec 2025
Audio Format
other

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since.

Warning: This episode discusses sexual themes.

Artificial intelligence has changed how millions of people write emails, conduct research and seek advice.

Kashmir Hill, who covers technology and privacy for The New York Times, tells the story of a woman whose relationship with a chatbot when much further than that.

Guest: Kashmir Hill, a features writer on the business desk at The New York Times, covering technology and privacy.

Background reading: 

  • Listen to the original version of the episode here.
  • Read more about her A.I. love story.

Photo: Helen Orr for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. Hey, it's Natalie. This week, we're revisiting some of our favorite shows from the year, listening back and hearing what's happened since the episodes aired. Today, we're returning to a story I could not stop thinking about this year. It's about a woman who got into a romantic relationship with chat GPT. Someone who used the chatbot technology to create an artificial boyfriend and then fell in love with it. I talked to reporter Cashmere Hill about everything that's happened since. It's Wednesday, December 31st. Cashmere, welcome back to the show. Thank you. So you're known here at the times for covering some of the strangest, most futuristic corners of the tech world. But even for you, it seems like this story of this woman and her relationship with a chatbot really stood out. So tell me about it. Generally, AI has been on my radar as a tech reporter. Once OpenAI released Chat GPT, all of a sudden, the kind of world of AI chatbots exploded. And at first, it was just like a better Google. But then people started using these chatbots in other kinds of ways as a writing partner or like writing stories together as a therapist. And so I was just noticing in the AI space, more and more reports of people having relationships with chatbots, and I really wanted to understand it. And I came across this woman, Irene, who had formed quite a strong attachment to Chat GPT. Okay, tell me what her story is. So I first talked to Irene last year. So yeah, I just want to start just a little bit about you,

Transcription truncated.

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since. Warning: This episode discusses sexual themes. Artificial intelligence has changed how millions of people write emails, conduct research and seek advice. Kashmir Hill, who covers technology and privacy for The New York Times, tells the story of a woman whose relationship with a chatbot when much further than that.