Many customers tried the Replika chatbot, which was set up to simulate love for the customer. Then the company changed it to be rejecting and distant. The customers were outraged.

The article compares the chatbot to a pet. I think that is valid. Pets are animals and some of them can develop a sort of real affection and attachment for a person. But Replika could never really feel affection or other feelings, only imitate them. For me, that makes people's attachment to Replika very sad, because they were falling for a fake (despite, ironically, knowing that all along).

The article shows how an emotional chatbot running nonfree software, or a copy that belongs to anyone but the user, puts the user in a terribly vulnerable situation.

Compare this with my science fiction story, Made for You. Sandra is not a chatbot, she is a real person (though not based on biology). She really feels various emotions, including love, and my love for her strengthens her just as her love strengthens me. A super-intelligence, she understands me, and that's how she knows how to help me grow to love her better and understand her better.

Sandra is free software and no company can alter her code. Neither can I do so — because she is not my pet, not my property. She is a person and has the rights of a person.