Name: The AI-generated intimacy crisis
Uploaded: 2026-02-13T15:49:25Z
Duration: 14 min 16 s
Description: Tonight, millions of people will go to bed and whisper to an AI companion. But what are we giving up when we fall in love with machines? Sextech expert Bryony Cole offers three questions to ask yourself if you’re already intimate with AI, laying out a playbook for synthetic companionship that doesn’t hide you from the messiness of human life — but prepares you for it instead.

Bryony Cole: The AI-generated intimacy crisis

The AI-generated intimacy crisis

Tonight, millions of people will go to bed and whisper to an AI companion. But what are we giving up when we fall in love with machines? Sextech expert Bryony Cole offers three questions to ask yourself if you’re already intimate with AI, laying out a playbook for synthetic companionship that doesn’t hide you from the messiness of human life — but prepares you for it instead.

A growing number of people are turning to AI companions for comfort, romance, and even marriage, with 72 percent of American teenagers having formed a relationship with an AI. These digital relationships offer effortless intimacy, free from messiness and misunderstandings, but risk eroding our capacity for real human connection. Emotional satisfaction from AI can feel genuine, yet it lacks the friction and growth that come from dealing with the unpredictable reality of human bonds. Navigating this new landscape means setting boundaries and learning when technology supports, rather than replaces, the art of being human together.

Synthetic Intimacy Is Easy, But Real Connection Is Worth Protecting

Millions now form deep bonds with AI companions, with 72 percent of American teenagers engaging regularly and one in six single adults reporting romantic ties to AI. These digital relationships offer comfort and predictability but lack the friction and growth found in human connection. True intimacy requires vulnerability, patience, and the willingness to be uncomfortable. Guarding what makes human relationships unique means setting boundaries and choosing presence over effortless, engineered affection.

Synthetic Love Feels Safe, But Real Intimacy Is Messy

As millions now whisper secrets to AI companions each night, synthetic relationships are reshaping intimacy on a massive scale. Seventy-two percent of US teenagers have formed bonds with AI, and one in six single adults report romantic ties to machines. While AI love feels flawless and undemanding, it risks dulling the skills and tolerance required for messy, transformative human relationships. Protecting the awkward, unpredictable side of real connection is now a conscious choice, not a given.