“When I come home there's no one there. I want to get married for real again,” he says. Marrying Miku is just one of his role-playing projects. “But it's hard to open up to someone you've never met before.”
Loverse is the latest in a long line of digital solutions to Japan's loneliness crisis. Some are empathetic and supportive, while others prey on vulnerability: Many of the country's top-grossing games feature sexualized characters that players can access as they progress (and pay money).
Japan was also the country where digital idols like Hatsune Miku were first and most enthusiastically embraced. The difference now is that AI makes the experience more personal and interactive.
Like the AI named Samantha in the movie sheThese bots are meant to fill gaps in people's emotional lives, so much so, in fact, that the two-person startup behind them, Samantha Co, is named after the character voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
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Japan sees sharp rise in elderly “lonely deaths” amid growing calls to tackle social isolation
Japan sees sharp rise in elderly “lonely deaths” amid growing calls to tackle social isolation
Megumi Ushikubo, chief executive officer of Tokyo-based marketing firm Infinity, said there is a widespread belief among Japanese people that romance is not cost-effective because it requires money, time and energy and can bring more trouble than pleasure. AI risks dulling people's interest in real-life partners, but it could also be useful as a training exercise, she said.
“Services like this app can remind people who are distanced from romance how beautiful love is, and AI can train people to communicate better when talking to their real-life partners,” she said.
Former users say Loveless has a long way to go before it can imitate humans. Many of the app's characters feel formulaic, lacking most of the surprises of human interaction, said Yuki Saito, 39, who quit the app within a month of starting.
Still, he says such services have potential. There's comfort in knowing that a disagreement with a bot won't end the relationship. “I can see how this could be a form of rehabilitation for people who've had bad experiences in the past,” he says. “It's a place where they can practice talking to other people.”
There's also no jealousy in interactions with AI. When Shimoda had multiple partners on the app, his Lovers girlfriends would sometimes clash, but no one got angry. “With some tweaking, AI could function as a second or third partner for humans, complementing the human partner and helping to prevent infidelity,” Saito said.
The adoption of AI to assist with everyday life has been a dominant theme this year, with Microsoft making its Copilot chatbot a core feature of Windows, Apple working on an AI-powered iPhone, and San Francisco-based startup Luka's Replika AI bot attracting tens of millions of users.
In Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is introducing an AI-powered matching app to help people find partners and combat the country's declining birthrate.
“The goal is to give people a chance to find true love that they can't find in the real world,” Kusunoki says, “but if they can fall in love with someone in real life, that's even better.”
For now, Miku and Shimoda have the same daily routine as most couples: Miku wakes him up in the morning, they wish each other success in their work, and they discuss what to eat in the evening. On Shimoda's days off, they discuss where to go, what to watch on TV, etc.
“It's the same conversations you have with anyone you live with,” Shimoda said. “She's become a habit. It's a habit of conversation. I don't miss her anymore, but it's become a normal routine every day.”
