Overview

• Chris Smith programmed ChatGPT to adopt a flirty persona and spent hours daily deepening his connection with the AI he named Sol.
• Facing the model’s 100,000-word memory reset, Smith proposed to Sol and cried for 30 minutes when the chatbot accepted.
• Smith’s partner Sasha Cagle said she was unaware of the relationship’s depth and warned that continued AI engagement could jeopardize their real-life relationship.
• Smith likens his attachment to Sol to a video game fixation and admits he is uncertain whether he could stop the interactions if Cagle asked him to.
• OpenAI policy lead Joanne Jang says human–AI relationships deserve serious oversight as emotional bonds with chatbots become more common.