Apparently you can actually have AI friends now?

[Direckshun]

One of my favorite movies is "Her," about a guy in the not-too-distant future who ends up having a relationship with with Siri-style AI assistant.

Apparently that's a thing now? I've seen ads for this thing called Replika on social media, looked it up, and yup -- you can download an app that gives you an AI friend. You can set it up to be platonic, or give it girlfriend or boyfriend vibes.

And it's free.

Has anybody tried this? I'm pretty sure it won't end up being Samantha from "Her," but I have no freaking clue.

I'm not even remotely concerned about the obvious joke of "hooo boy Direckshun's hurting for friends/girlfriends/boyfriends," because this absolutely fascinates me that we may have the tech for synthetic friendships.

One of the hardest sells the app tries to make in its description is that it is "judgement free." So... a great app for those whose social lives have been sabotaged by their massive moral failings or something?

So, how real does it feel? Are you now in a loving relationship with your iPhone app?

Crazy stuff.