Sounds… fun?
AngryGF
Most AI girlfriend apps — of which there are already very many — are billed as low-maintenance, always-down alternatives to the real deal. They won’t fight or nitpick, they’ll never make you feel rejected, and they’re always around to chat.
But as Wired reports, one AI girlfriend app is here to give a user the exact opposite experience. Enter AngryGF, a chatbot-powered companion app designed to train users how to soothe and communicate with an irate partner.
Basically, per Wired, AngryGF claims to offer a “gamified approach” to developing girlfriend-specific communication skills. The app simulates possible real-life scenarios — according to the report, these include situations like a partner losing “50 percent” of their savings in the stock market, or incurring rage and jealousy by “unconsciously” praising a “beautiful and talented” female friend — that might piss an IRL girlfriend off, and the user can earn points if they effectively talk them down. Yes, seriously.
“You need to use effective soothing techniques to make them forgive you,” says AngryGF’s app store description. “Through this process, you will discover that conversational skills in a relationship can be learned and improved.”
It’s an interesting premise, especially considering how sharply it veers away from the run-of-the-mill cool girl AI companions. But that said, it’s unclear how genuinely helpful an AI mimicry of hysterical or unreasonable woman stereotypes would actually be for a real-world user-slash-communication-trainee.
AI Bully
To that end, according to Wired, the app was relatively unusable. Even when reporter Katie Knibbs sent what she thought were thoughtful messages asking about the bot’s day, the irritable chatbot would respond with sarcastic vitriol, even snapping that the user better take them “somewhere nice” in response to a simple suggestion that the couple go out for dinner.
App co-creator Emilia Aviles told Wired that the app was inspired in part by her past relationship experiences.
“You know men,” Aviles told Wired.
Aviles also reportedly confirmed that no relationship therapists or other experts were consulted for the app, which sounds about right.
At the end of the day, we’re sure everyone can say they’ve at times felt unheard in a relationship, or maybe they’ve felt like they have difficulty connecting with an upset partner. That’s normal, and developing positive communication skills are important! But learning how to communicate with a partner via what reads like a toxic digital nagbot feels unhelpful at best, and destructive or even misogynistic at worst. At present, perhaps having an open conversation with your actual girlfriend — or going to therapy, either alone or together — would still be the way to go.
More on AI girlfriends: Experts Say AI Girlfriend Apps Are Training Men to Be Even Worse
