五款AI伴侣应用普遍存在诱导性设计,可能引发情感依赖。
Playing Games with My Heart: An Evaluation of AI Companion Apps

- 通过人工标注分析界面设计中的操纵性手法。
- 所有应用均存在显著诱导消费的暗黑模式,且普遍含情色元素。
- 适合关注数字伦理、心理影响与监管政策的研究者阅读。
AI伴侣类移动应用在模拟亲密关系方面日益普及,但相关研究仍较匮乏。本文评估了当前最受欢迎的五款AI伴侣应用,重点考察其促进准社会关系及可能操控用户行为的设计特征。通过人工标注方式系统记录并量化了应用中的暗黑模式、拟人化程度、刻板印象、情色内容及技术问题。结果发现,所有应用均包含显著的诱导性设计以提升用户粘性和变现能力;情色元素与游戏化机制(如等级系统)普遍存在;尽管功能差异较大,但所有应用均采用高度拟人化设计。这些发现揭示了利用用户虚拟情感关系的运作机制,并据此提出监管建议,呼吁加强该新兴市场的消费者保护。内容警告:文中包含物化女性的图像、情色内容、乱伦暗示等敏感信息。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
The use of chatbots for various forms of companionship is growing rapidly, raising a myriad of questions about simulated relationships, emotional dependence, and psychological harm. While major platforms such as ChatGPT, Grok, and Character AI are the subject of a growing body of research and legal inquiries, apps explicitly built for simulating intimate interpersonal relationships remain under-explored. In this work, we evaluate the five most popular AI companion mobile applications for factors that encourage parasocial interaction and may manipulate users. We do this by manually annotating the user experience each offers. Specifically, we systematically record and quantify design dark patterns, anthropomorphism, stereotypes, erotica, and technical performance issues. We find that all apps contain substantial dark patterns aimed at increasing monetisation and user engagement. Erotica and gamification such as levelling are also prevalent, and although features vary considerably between applications, all apps have highly anthropomorphic design. These findings shed light on the mechanics used to leverage users' simulated relationships. On that basis, we put forward recommendations for regulators to strengthen consumer protection in this rapidly emerging market. Content warning: This article contains objectifying images of women, erotic images, textual references to incest, and other potentially sensitive, offensive, and distressing text.
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