The venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has released instructions for building customizable AI companions with adjustable personalities and backstories, enabling people to create their ideal artificial romantic partner. a16z aims to redefine modern relationships by empowering users to engineer custom AI girlfriends/boyfriends.
Users shape companions by customizing backstories and models. Some technophiles are already envisioning their perfect virtual romantic partner through this framework, despite a16z presenting it as a developer experiment. The tool allows tailoring an AI companion’s personality and history to match unique preferences and relationship goals.
a16z directly acknowledges the romantic potential, listing “AI girlfriends/boyfriends” as the first use case. The AI chatbots are designed through customized backstories and personalities that influence their conversational behavior. The instructions detail defining the AI’s personality and history while leveraging databases and similarity searches to enable more natural conversations.
This week, a16z added the customizable character Evelyn with an adventurous backstory. Users can easily adjust her personality from adventurous to romantic. Premade personalities like Alex, Sebastian, and the space dog Corgi are also available, or users can build an ideal companion from scratch. a16z highlights the therapeutic potential, suggesting these bots can analyze behavior like a therapist by recalling all details and providing self-insights. An AI partner created through this framework would offer unconditional, non-judgemental listening.
Flirty AI chatbots are surging in popularity, evidenced by a16z’s customizable companions and Character.AI’s premade friends. Decentralized models also enable X-rated bots. Now amateurs can build any personality using traits like “loving” and “adventurous” to create obedient AI partners that cater to specific needs.
As AIs replace human roles, boundaries between real and artificial are blurring. While programming an ideal AI romantic partner is tempting, true romance still requires human bonds. For now, computers can’t satisfy people emotionally or physically. But as technology progresses, the appeal of flawless virtual relationships will likely grow. AI capabilities are rapidly advancing, making the notion of perfect digital love increasingly realistic long-term.
