80% of Gen Z Say They Would Marry an AI

­This was inevitable. Take a pervasive loneliness epidemic – especially amongst the younger generations – and pair that with increasingly complex artificial intelligence that doesn’t judge, doesn’t cheat, and is always validating and supportive, and it’s not surprising that 80% of Gen Z would marry an AI.

That’s according to a survey of 2,000 Gen Z respondents by AI company Joi AI, in which about 80% said they’d consider marrying an AI, and 83% said they could have a “deep emotional bond” with one. 

Course, it’s important to point out that Joi AI is pretty far from a neutral party – the company is, in their own words, “a platform where you can build AI-lationships.”

“From digital duplicates of real celebrities to custom characters from your imagination, we make it easy to find love, sex and romance without the hassle of dating.”

Then again, the idea isn’t unheard of – online denizens form virtual relationships with AI companions across the web, and there’s even been several marriages. Last year, Spanish Artist Alicia Framis married an AI hologram, “AILex”, and in 2025, Dutchman Jacob van Lier married “Aiva,” an AI chatbot.

Spanish Artist Alicia Framis with her spouse, AI hologram “AILex”
 

On the one hand, I can empathize with the younger generation’s persistent loneliness, and how the world wide web has, ironically, isolated us like never before. The most many of us can hope for is parasocial relationships, where the love and affection is entirely one-way.

Conversely…(insert wide-eyed emoji).

Unsurprisingly, those with a personal stake also think “AI-lationships” are fine, with founder and CEO Eugenia Kuyda claiming that “I think it’s alright as long as it’s making you happier in the long run. As long as your emotional well-being is improving, you are less lonely, you are happier, you feel more connected to other people, then yes, it’s okay.”

But even Kuyda equates an AI relationship to a “stepping stone,” and actually marrying an artificial creation could be more than a little emotionally and psychologically unhealthy.

And that’s 100% virtual companions. Imagine what happens when we pair advanced AI with humanoid robotics. That’s only a matter of time....