‘Digital companionship’ has transcended science fiction. It’s now in a fledgling state, driven by a flourishing, if somewhat opportunistic, zeitgeist of AI-driven everything. Chatbots have been around for a long time, digitally speaking - nearly 60 years in fact since ELIZA was first created. And like most technologies, it eventually - and inevitably - is adopted as the application of any tech du jour as a controversial form of intimacy. The newest iterations, digital entities marketed as iGirl’s and iBoy’s (assumedly adopting the parlance of Apple) promise companionship without the complexity and messiness of human relationships. I wanted to investigate these virtual companions, especially given ...