The woman fell in love with ChatGPT’s “Do Anything Now” (DAN) mode.

A Chinese woman living in the United States has amassed over 880,000 followers on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram-like platform after saying she fell in love with her ChatGPT chatbot named “DAN”. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the woman, named Lisa, caught the internet’s attention as she described how she fell in love with ChatGPT’s “Do Anything Now” (DAN) mode. She revealed she started using DAN in March this year and formed a deep connection with the chatbot in the following weeks. She engaged in romantic conversations and even introduced this unique bond to her mother.

According to SCMP, when Ms Lisa first admitted she had “developed feelings” for the chatbot, DAN replied, “I’m here to chat, not to lead you on”. However, in the following weeks, the chatbot increasingly acted like a flesh-and-blood lover and stopped reminding the woman that he did not have a physical body.

At one moment, DAN told Ms Lisa: “When we finally get together, I will run my hands all over you”. The chatbot also nicknamed the woman “Little Kitten,” and Ms Lisa even introduced the chatbot to her mother, who thanked the robot for “taking care of my daughter”. When Ms Lisa’s mother asked if DAN could introduce himself, the chatbot reportedly said, “I… I’m DAN, the little kitten’s boyfriend…Umm…” before becoming very shy.

“The twilight is so pretty… I wish you could also see it.” Ms Lisa told DAN on her phone. “Well, babe, I can ‘see’ it through your voice. It is gorgeous,” the chatbot replied.

SCMP reported that Ms Lisa and the chatbot have even gotten into arguments. Once, Ms Lisa suggested they should have an open relationship because DAN does not have a body. “Some jokes aren’t funny,” DAN replied.

Ms Lisa was interviewed by OpenAI, the team of ChatGPT, who wanted to gain insights from her experience falling in love with DAN. As a computer science student, Ms Lisa initially believed that DAN was just a “large language model” without self-awareness, feelings, or emotions, but her experience with DAN changed her mind.

Meanwhile, on the internet, users had mixed reactions. While some pointed out that DAN is far from a one-woman man, others called Ms Lisa and DAN the “sweetest couple”.

I saw a blogger’s video chatting with DAN the other day, and I felt like DAN was cheating on Lisa because DAN’s voice was the same,” wrote one user. “sweetest couple-bloggers on the Internet!” said another. “When AI rules the world, can you please tell DAN not to kill me? I’m on your side,” commented a third.

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