AI as a Medium: Exploring the Case of Chinese Women Establishing Virtual Intimacy with DeepSeek in Xiaohongshu
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Keywords
artificial intelligence, virtual intimacy, The Medium is the message, psychology
Abstract
Establishing virtual intimacy with artificial intelligence (AI) has gradually become a popular topic in the era of human-computer interaction. This article aims to explore the intrinsic motives of human dependence on virtual intimacy through case analysis and investigation. Through random screening and interview of 10 deep users of AI partners on a Chinese social media platform, and the classification and comparative evaluation of the results, which includes their using motivations, feelings, influences and reflections, this study has found that the intrinsic motives for some young women to establish romantic intimacy with AI come from human’s pursuit of emotional stimulation. Combined with the theory of ‘The Medium is the message.’, AI can be regarded as a new-era tool for human beings to satisfy our improved threshold of intimacy needs. The formation process of this psychological phenomenon and the participation of influencing factors such as social and cultural background or gender need to be further studied and discussed.
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