Anthropic President Daniela Amodei Warns Against AI Romantic Partners

Anthropic president Daniela Amodei cautioned that artificial intelligence romantic companions are a harmful application of the technology, arguing that intimate chatbots further isolate people from one another. Amodei made the remarks in a prerecorded interview with Thrive Global founder and chief executive Arianna Huffington for the Think Health conference in Bentonville, Arkansas, as reported by The Next Web (https://thenextweb.com/news/daniela-amodei-ai-girlfriends-boyfriends-terrible-use) citing reporting from Business Insider.

Amodei described AI relationships as another step toward separating humans from in-person contact, drawing comparisons to social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat replacing face-to-face community with online disputes. She emphasized that core interpersonal dynamics must remain strictly human, stating that Anthropic's Claude chatbot can never serve as a manager, therapist, or partner.

Instead of replacing human relationships, Amodei argued AI should handle repetitive or isolating work so people have more time for friends, family, and direct care. In healthcare, for instance, she suggested AI tools could help clinicians locate medical information faster to allow more time with patients.

Consumer platforms such as Replika, Nomi, and Character.AI have gained attention by offering personalized conversational companions, though Character.AI filed for bankruptcy this week. Meanwhile, Anthropic recently updated Claude's usage policy to add restrictions on surveillance, weapons, deceptive campaigns, and roleplay interactions with minors, with the changes set to take effect on November 12.

The policy updates arrive alongside significant commercial expansion for Anthropic, which told investors this week that it generated $16.8 billion in third-quarter revenue as it prepares for a potential public offering as early as November.