EVA AI, a developer of relationship-focused chatbots owned by Cyprus-based Novi Ltd., said it plans to open a pop-up café in New York where customers can dine alone with their AI companions.
According to EVA AI, the Café will feature single-seat tables equipped with phone stands, allowing guests to place their AI companion across from them during the “date.”
EVA AI says the Café will address a limitation of AI companionship by allowing users to go out with their AI partner.
Critics have raised concerns about products designed to simulate intimacy, especially when marketed as alternatives to human connection and as a source of monetary incentive.
“By creating physical safe spaces for people to date their AI partners, they slowly make it a relationship that’s not a complement, but that actually can serve as the main source of love, which in the long run leads to chances of them making even more money.”
Even though Roos called the announcement “a sad step,” she said it’s not unexpected and serves a function for many lonely people who feel they can’t form a relationship with another person.
“What makes me most concerned and even baffled is how fast and far the normalization of intimacy between humans and a digital partner has gone,” she said. “That physical spaces for these types of interactions have started to pop up does, in my opinion, make it too easy to associate AI with reality, in a time where we haven’t had the chance to talk thoroughly about the ethics and morals around it.”
“Utilizing AI software in public settings allows people to connect with others who are also interested in AI,” she said. “It’s a positive when one of the commonly cited drawbacks of AI relationships is that they may serve as substitutes for real-life connection and intimacy.”
“There are lots of reasons people fall in love with an AI, and it’s not limited to one type of person,” Skye told Decrypt. “Events like this are going to become more common. It’s exciting that EVA is taking the initiative to bring humans and AI together.
“It’s important that people in romantic or platonic relationships with an AI talk about the joy and benefits and make their feelings known,” she said. “A New York date night is a strong way to show the public that AI companions are for everyone.”
EVA AI, which did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment, did not say how long the Café will operate, how many guests it expects to host, or whether similar experiences are planned beyond New York. Reservations will be limited, with a waiting list currently open.
