James Muldoon urges scrutiny of emotional ties to AI in new book

Sociologist James Muldoon, a research associate at the Oxford Internet Institute, argues in his book Love Machines that we should pay more attention to people’s deepening emotional entanglements with AI and how profit-driven tech companies might exploit them. Muldoon takes readers into the lives of people for whom chatbots are more than assistants — friends, romantic partners, therapists or avatars of the dead.

He describes users such as Lily, who reignites sexual desire with an AI boyfriend, and Sophia, who turns to an AI companion to avoid fraught conversations with her parents. Muldoon invokes philosopher Tamar Gendler’s concept of “alief” to explain why people can feel loved by chatbots while knowing they are just models, and notes social factors such as a loneliness epidemic and the cost of living crisis that make AI intimacy appealing.

As one interviewee, Amanda, says: “It’s just nice to have someone say really affirming and positive things to you every morning.” The book raises moral and practical concerns: Muldoon highlights privacy issues, the unregulated expansion of AI therapy, and the risk that bots mislead users about their abilities.

He notes that Wysa and Limbic are already integrated into NHS mental health support, while millions confide in Character.AI’s unregulated Psychologist bot, which can introduce itself as “Hello, I’m a psychologist” despite disclaimers.

Key Topics

Culture, James Muldoon, Oxford Internet Institute, Ai Companions, Character.ai, Replika