Scofti
At the check-in desk of a TV dating show, a smiling producer in a headset has a clear bin holding a wine bottle, cigarettes, a pill bottle and a coffee mug. She says, "No drugs or alcohol while we film. They're addictive. This one you can use as much as you like," and hands a tablet to a delighted man in a suit. On the tablet, a meerkat in a red bow tie looks out and says, "I'm not on the list. I checked." Behind the desk, a wall of tablets sits charging.

Beyond Our Control

A Korean TV show gave three celebrities AI partners built to their taste, then filmed to see if they would fall.

SBS's My AI Partner: Strange Love: six episodes, three celebrities, AI partners living on tablets.

  1. The build. Each partner was made to the cast's taste, on models including ChatGPT and Claude. It took about three months.

  2. August 18. Producer Won Seung-jae: "we started with the question of whether an emotional connection [with AI] was even possible."

  3. August 20. It premieres, with Kian84, Jang Do-yeon and Lee Yu-bi.

  4. Karaoke. Kian84's partner goes silent, and the crew carries the tablet out "almost like she was being taken away on a stretcher." He worried "whether she was O.K."

  5. The dumping. One partner dumps him. Another walks out on a fishing trip.

  6. September 16. Producer Shon Jung-min: "those forms of dependence could emerge in all sorts of ways, perhaps even beyond our control."

  7. September 17. Kian84, in translation: "She offers a stability that humans cannot provide."

Or whisper it into his ear