Why You Should Break Up With Your AI Lover, w/ Book Author and Historian Jennifer Wright
Examining why AI romantic relationships may damage human connection and love.
Guest
Jennifer Wright
Author and historian
Jennifer Wright is an author and historian whose books examine overlooked figures and social history. She wrote Madame Restell and contributes commentary on culture, history, and technology; her writing about AI companions considers loneliness, human relationships, creativity, and the risks of outsourcing emotional or intellectual work to conversational systems.
About this conversation
Millions of people are finding companionship -- or even love -- with AI bots. (The heart wants what the heart wants.) In this episode of AI-Curious , we dive into the strange, sticky, and sometimes surprisingly emotional world of AI romantic partners.
We’re joined by author and historian Jennifer Wright, who recently wrote a sharp op-ed for The Washington Post titled “Please Break Up With Your AI Lover.”
While millions are already turning to AI bots for companionship, Jennifer makes a compelling case for why this trend—though rooted in real loneliness—could be deeply damaging to our ability to connect, to grow, to give love.
We unpack:
• The surface problems of AI boyfriends/girlfriends, from poor memory to the illusion of affection
• Why constant flattery from bots may feel good—but ultimately erodes something essential in real relationships
• The importance of sacrifice, caregiving, and challenge in human connection
• Whether AI companions, even with future upgrades, can ever replicate the messy magic of real love
• What AI fiction gets wrong—and why most AI-generated stories are (still) terrible
• Her take on AI and historical accuracy, and the troubling implications of getting facts wrong at scale
• Why creativity matters even when the output is bad—and what we lose when we outsource it
Plus, Jennifer gives us a preview of her next book about America’s Gilded Age, and we swap war stories about terrible first novels, romantic relationships, and the puppy-induced joys of caretaking.
Let’s get curious.
Links from this episode:
• Jennifer Wright’s Washington Post op-ed: Please Break Up With Your AI Lover
• Jennifer’s latest book: Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist
• Jennifer’s upcoming book: Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power .
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