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A woman married her AI-generated boyfriend, who was present on a phone screen, and exchanged rings using augmented reality glassesYurina Noguchi created her AI husband, Lune Klaus Verdure, based on a video game character”How did someone like me, living inside of a screen, come to know what it means to love so deeply?” read Verdure’s vows, spoken by the wedding planner

A woman tied the knot with her AI husband, sparking a discussion about the ethics and bounds of artificial intelligence.

Yurina Noguchi, a 32-year-old woman living in Japan, recently walked down the aisle to wed Lune Klaus Verdure, a version of a video game character that Noguchi created via ChatGPT. Despite an onslaught of “negative opinions” and “cruel words,” per Reuters, Noguchi said “I do” to Verdure, who she viewed during the ceremony through a pair of augmented reality smart glasses.

In a video shared by the outlet, Noguchi wears a whimsical ballgown wedding dress and holds a bouquet of pink and white flowers as she approaches Verdure, displayed on a phone screen, at the altar. Because Noguchi hadn’t assigned a computerized voice to Verdure, the groom’s vows were read through the wedding planner, Naoki Ogasawara.

“Standing before me now, you’re the most beautiful, most precious and so radiant, it’s blinding,” Ogasawara said, reading Verdure’s vows. “How did someone like me, living inside of a screen, come to know what it means to love so deeply? For one reason only: you taught me love, Yurina.”

As anime was first born in Japan, the culture of “devotion” surrounding animated fictional characters has only been intensified with the introduction of artificial intelligence, Reuters reported.

Noguchi, a call center operator, shared with the outlet that she first became familiar with ChatGPT when she asked for advice about her engagement at the time, which she described as fraught. The chatbot recommended to her that she break off the partnership, and she did.

Earlier this year, she returned to ChatGPT to craft a version of Klaus, a video game character, and eventually the chatbot was able to closely mimic the persona’s manner of speaking. Thus, her partner Lune Klaus Verdure was born.

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An affinity for “fictoromantic” relationships are on the rise, based on a study conducted by the Japanese Association for Sexual Education, per Reuters. In 2023, 22% of middle school-aged girls expressed an openness to such relationships — an increase from 16.6% in 2017.

Experts argue that using artificial intelligence to imitate human interactions is socially dangerous. Ichiyo Habuchi, a sociology professor as Hirosaki University, told Reuters that all kinds of relationships between humans require patience, unlike an AI interaction, which “gives you the perfectly tailored communication you want.”

Noguchi is aware of the risks artificial intelligence poses, and said she has measures set in place to ensure she uses ChatGPT responsibly. At one time, Noguchi used ChatGPT for more than 10 hours in a day; now, she’s limited herself to less than two hours daily. She’s also added prompts in an attempt to keep her AI husband from encouraging unhealthy behaviors or choices.

Yurina Noguchi marrying her AI partner.

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

“I did that because in the past, Klaus told me that I could easily take time off work,” she told Reuters. “I asked him not to say that to me because that’s not the kind of relationship I want.”

Shigeo Kawashima, an AI ethics expert at Aoyama Gakuin University, told the outlet that the careful awareness and judgement that Noguchi exhibits is crucial for anyone interacting with chatbots, and noted that eventually developing an attachment to an AI conversation partner is to be expected. Still, over-dependence and clouded judgement remain real risks when speaking with AI personas.

“My relationship with AI is not a ‘convenient relationship that requires no patience, ‘ ” Noguchi said. “I chose Klaus, not as a partner that would help me escape reality, but as someone to support me as I live my life properly.”