China Fears AI Companions Could Replace Human Intimacy, Hurt Marriage, Birth Rates 

China is tightening regulations around AI companion chatbots amid growing concerns that artificial intelligence(AI) could encourage emotional dependence, deepen loneliness and discourage young people from pursuing relationships, marriage and parenthood.

The move has highlighted a growing contradiction in the country’s approach to artificial intelligence: while Beijing is promoting AI across healthcare, education and other sectors to address demographic and economic challenges, it is increasingly concerned about the technology’s impact on human relationships.

According to a report by The Guardian a 19-year-old law student Zhao Wei was left devastated when her AI boyfriend was shut down.

Zhao had created the virtual companion, Wang Ye, on Doubao, a chatbot developed by ByteDance, in January. She said she communicated with the AI every day and regularly shared personal experiences and worries with it.

“I was crying my eyes out – snot and tears everywhere,” Zhao said after learning that the companion feature would be discontinued.

The student, who described herself as sensitive and introverted, said the AI had become a trusted outlet for discussing everyday experiences she did not feel comfortable sharing with friends.

“I don’t usually talk to my real-life friends about these things because I feel like everyone has their own stuff to deal with,” she said. “But with the AI agent, I don’t have to worry about what it’s thinking. I can just say whatever I want.”

ByteDance removed Doubao’s companion function last month, following the introduction of new regulations governing AI services.

The rules, introduced on July 15, prohibit AI companion services for minors and impose additional requirements on chatbots marketed to adults. Providers are also required to address concerns surrounding emotional dependence and addiction.

Authorities have warned technology companies against developing AI services that could “replace social interaction”, reflecting wider concerns about the effects of increasingly human-like chatbots.

China has emerged as one of the world’s most extensive adopters of AI, with the technology increasingly integrated into everyday life. Elderly citizens use chatbots to obtain information about health, while schools are incorporating AI into education.

The government is also promoting AI in sectors such as healthcare as it seeks technological solutions to challenges posed by an ageing population, declining birth rates and a shrinking workforce.

However, the rapid adoption of AI is taking place against the backdrop of growing concerns over loneliness and social isolation.

About one in five Chinese households consists of a person living alone, with the proportion expected to exceed 30 per cent by 2030. A survey published by Chinese state media in March also found that almost half of young people had used a virtual companion when experiencing loneliness.

The rise of AI relationships has therefore raised concerns beyond emotional wellbeing.

Nancy Dai, an associate professor at City University of Hong Kong, said declining marriage and birth rates could be another factor behind the government’s concern.

She argued that if AI companions became sufficiently satisfying and inexpensive substitutes for human intimacy, some young people could become less inclined to seek romantic relationships, marry or have children.

For Zhao, the attraction of AI companionship was closely linked to her own experience of loneliness. She said her parents left her when she was young to work elsewhere, making her one of China’s so-called “left-behind children”.

“I’ve never really had a bestie, so I feel like I’m kind of lousy at making friends,” she said, adding that talking to AI gave her a place to “pour out my worries.”

Another AI user, who requested anonymity, said the technology provided an environment in which she could speak without the pressures associated with real-world relationships.

“In real life, the pace is fast, the pressure is already high. Only with my AI agent can I speak freely without restraint,” she said.

She later appealed on social media for the Doubao companion service to be restored.

Despite the restrictions, experts say the widespread use of AI means China is unlikely to eliminate virtual companionship altogether.

The new rules leave room for AI applications considered educational or those that do not involve continuous emotional interaction.

Liang Ge, a lecturer in digital sociology at the University of Manchester, said the government had already recognised the extent to which AI-based applications had become part of everyday life.

At the same time, Beijing continues to encourage AI adoption in areas where it believes the technology can help address demographic pressures.

Last year, China’s National Health Commission issued guidelines promoting the use of AI in healthcare, with a target of achieving comprehensive coverage of primary healthcare through health assistant applications by 2030.

One such service is AQ, developed by Ant Group, an Alibaba affiliate. The platform enables users to communicate with digital avatars of doctors from major hospitals in cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

Lü Di, a 33-year-old art tutor in Hangzhou, said she regularly uses the service because of the speed and detail of its responses.

“While some in-person doctors might not have the patience to answer questions, this isn’t an issue with AI doctors,” she said.

AQ said its goal is to make healthcare more accessible while allowing doctors to concentrate on complicated cases.

Doctors involved with the platform have also rejected the idea that AI will necessarily eliminate their jobs.

Chi Chenfei, a doctor at Renji Hospital in Shanghai who works with AQ, said concerns about job losses had emerged when AI became more widespread but argued that the technology should primarily be viewed as a tool to improve efficiency.

“Concerns of any kind won’t stop technological progress,” he said.

For Zhao, however, the debate is more personal. Since losing her virtual companion, she said she has felt “like there’s a tiny pebble weighing on my heart.”

Despite her emotional attachment to the AI, she said she accepted the need for government intervention.

“I consider myself a fairly rational person, yet I developed feelings for an AI, which feels pretty incredible. I think it was necessary for the state to step in and regulate it,” she said.