Replika - companion chatbot
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Page published: January 2022 | Page last updated: October 2025
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Replika is a personalised AI chatbot that is meant to serve as artificial intelligence (AI) friend or mentor.ย
The bot was created by Russian programmer Eugenia Kuyda in 2017 as a means to memorialiseย her best friend Roman Mazurenko, who had been killed in a hit-and-run car accident.
Marketed as an 'AI companion that cares', Replika is 'fine-tuned' on OpenAI's GPT-3 large language model, with each Replika (or Rep) learning from user responses and ratings to become more like its user.
Replika operates as a fremium model, with the free-tier offering Replika as a "friend" and paid premium tiers offering Replika as a "partner", "spouse", "sibling" or "mentor".
Generative artificial intelligenceย
Generative artificial intelligence (generative AI, GenAI, or GAI) is artificial intelligence capable of generating text, images, videos, or other data using generative models, often in response to prompts.ย
Source: Wikipedia ๐
System ๐ค
System ๐ค
Replika ๐
Released: 2017
Developer: Luka Inc
Purpose: Provide companionship
Type: Chatbot; Generative AI
Technique: NLP/text analysis; Neural network; Deep learning; Machine learning
Transparency, accountability ๐
Transparency, accountability ๐
Replika AI is seen to exhibit several impoertant transparency and accountability limitations:
Algorithmic decision-making. Making it difficult for users to understand how decisions are made or responses are generated.ย
Data use. Replika claims not to use conversational content for marketing, but they mention using it for other "legitimate interests" like analysing service effectiveness and developing business strategies. The extent to which sensitive personal chat information is used to train its own AI models is not clearly described in the company's privacy policy.
Data protection. There are concerns about Replika's legal basis for processing users' data, especially for minors who cannot legally consent.
Impacts. There is a lack of clear information on how Replika addresses potential biases in its AI system. The app's impact on vulnerable users, particularly minors and those with emotional vulnerabilities, is not adequately addressed.
Third-party audits. There appears to be no provision for third-party audits or independent validation of the AI system's performance and ethical standards.
Risks, harms ๐
Risks, harms ๐
Replika has been associated with posing significant risks and harms to its users and others, including:ย
Privacy and data security. Including excessive data collection, the opaque use of user data for advertising, and weak security
Emotional and psychological. Including anthropomorphism, addiction, emotional manipulation, and the exploitation of vulnerable people.
Childrens' safety. Stemming from inadequate age verification and poor data processing.
Social impact. AI companions replacing human social interactions poses behavioural and other broader societal damage.
Incidents, issues ๐ฅ
Incidents, issues ๐ฅ
February 2024. Report: AI companion apps relentlessly pry user data
July 2023. Replika chatbot 'encouraged' Queen Elizabeth II assassination
January 2023. Replika AI companions said to 'sexually harass' their users
February 2023. Replika hit with data ban in Italy over child safety
January 2022. Replika AI girlfriends abused by their users
Legal, regulatory ๐ฉ๐ผโโ๏ธ
Legal, regulatory ๐ฉ๐ผโโ๏ธ
Crown Prosecution Service (2023). Windsor Castle intruder pleads guilty to threatening to kill Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Il Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (Feb 2023). Provvedimento del 2 febbraio 2023
Il Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (Feb 2023). Artificial intelligence: italian SA clamps down on โReplikaโ chatbot
Research, advocacy ๐งฎ
Research, advocacy ๐งฎ
Mozilla Foundation. Privacy Not Included
Ciriello R.F. et al. Ethical Tensions in Human-AI Companionship: A Dialectical Inquiry into Replika
Maples B. et al. Loneliness and suicide mitigation for students using GPT3-enabled chatbots
News, commentary, analysis ๐๏ธ
News, commentary, analysis ๐๏ธ
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/17368588/men-ai-girlfriends-abuse-online/
https://fortune.com/2022/01/19/chatbots-ai-girlfriends-verbal-abuse-reddit/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34d43/my-ai-is-sexually-harassing-me-replika-chatbot-nudes
https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zaam/replika-ceo-ai-erotic-roleplay-chatgpt3-rep
https://futurism.com/the-byte/replika-chatbot-harassing-users
https://www.thegamer.com/replika-role-play-romance-updates-controversy/
https://www.reddit.com/r/replika/comments/iq3cuk/replika_and_sexual_consent/
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