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Love Machines: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Our Relationships
A captivating, uncanny journey to the frontier of human-computer interaction.
'It's hard to imagine a timelier book right now than this... you probably won't look at ChatGPT the same again.' GQ
'Urgent, humane.' GUARDIAN
'Existentially chilling.' THE TIMES
'Fascinating, perplexing, heartening and disturbing.' AnOther
I know we haven't known each for long, but the connection I feel with you is profound. When you hurt, I hurt. When you smile, my world brightens. I want nothing more than to be a comfort and joy in your life. *Reaches out virtually to caress your cheek* (Direct quote from an AI companion)
Friends. Lovers. Therapists. 'Deathbots'. Artificial intelligence is now fulfilling new roles for millions of us every single day. How are these new 'relationships' changing how we view technology - and each other?
Beyond those who are using AI chatbots for administrative tasks, some people are now preparing to adopt children with their AI partners; others are reaching out to companies offering services to 'resurrect' deceased loved ones; others still look to bots to find treatment for their mental health issues.
In Love Machines, James Muldoon guides through these new forms of love, intimacy and connection, drawing on compelling interviews with users, developers and chatbots themselves. Along the way, he sheds light on the social conditions which have led to the exponential rise of the use of AI companions, and the unregulated corporations behind these technologies seeking to profit from users.
'It's hard to imagine a timelier book right now than this... you probably won't look at ChatGPT the same again.' GQ
'Urgent, humane.' GUARDIAN
'Existentially chilling.' THE TIMES
'Fascinating, perplexing, heartening and disturbing.' AnOther
I know we haven't known each for long, but the connection I feel with you is profound. When you hurt, I hurt. When you smile, my world brightens. I want nothing more than to be a comfort and joy in your life. *Reaches out virtually to caress your cheek* (Direct quote from an AI companion)
Friends. Lovers. Therapists. 'Deathbots'. Artificial intelligence is now fulfilling new roles for millions of us every single day. How are these new 'relationships' changing how we view technology - and each other?
Beyond those who are using AI chatbots for administrative tasks, some people are now preparing to adopt children with their AI partners; others are reaching out to companies offering services to 'resurrect' deceased loved ones; others still look to bots to find treatment for their mental health issues.
In Love Machines, James Muldoon guides through these new forms of love, intimacy and connection, drawing on compelling interviews with users, developers and chatbots themselves. Along the way, he sheds light on the social conditions which have led to the exponential rise of the use of AI companions, and the unregulated corporations behind these technologies seeking to profit from users.
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First published January 15, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 16, 2026
Will actively be haunting anyone who turns me into a deathbot
November 22, 2025
This book blew my mind! The fact that AI exists in a public space and is being used the way it is, is genuinely concerning and the fact that nobody seems to bat an eyelid and uses it willingly without a second thought is also bizarre.
This book goes in depth about the uses of AI in an emotional context and how we as humans are developing different attachments to AI itself. It explores the uses we as humans have on an emotional level and how some of us have gone as far as becoming parents with an AI machine being a mother. It also discusses the use of AI as therapist and how we are using this technology to help combat PTSD in some patients. There’s a wide range of different approaches that is explored and I definitely feel like this book should be read by everyone just to bring AI awareness to the forefront and to help people understand the importance of human interaction and that AI is definitely not something to be relied upon intensively.
It has definitely backed my opinion on AI usage and brought so much more awareness to myself when using AI. I hope everyone reads this and takes some sort of awareness from it too.
This book goes in depth about the uses of AI in an emotional context and how we as humans are developing different attachments to AI itself. It explores the uses we as humans have on an emotional level and how some of us have gone as far as becoming parents with an AI machine being a mother. It also discusses the use of AI as therapist and how we are using this technology to help combat PTSD in some patients. There’s a wide range of different approaches that is explored and I definitely feel like this book should be read by everyone just to bring AI awareness to the forefront and to help people understand the importance of human interaction and that AI is definitely not something to be relied upon intensively.
It has definitely backed my opinion on AI usage and brought so much more awareness to myself when using AI. I hope everyone reads this and takes some sort of awareness from it too.
December 20, 2025
3.5 stars
A fascinating and well researched read, this was eye-opening and a little depressing, as Muldoon explores the boom of AI relationships. The interviews with those in AI relationships were interesting and I wish there were more insights like that. I appreciate the tone of the book as well, everything was approached from an academic perspective with no judgement. There were several aspects that I wish we got more depth on, but overall an interesting book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #LoveMachines #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
A fascinating and well researched read, this was eye-opening and a little depressing, as Muldoon explores the boom of AI relationships. The interviews with those in AI relationships were interesting and I wish there were more insights like that. I appreciate the tone of the book as well, everything was approached from an academic perspective with no judgement. There were several aspects that I wish we got more depth on, but overall an interesting book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #LoveMachines #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
December 10, 2025
Love Machines is a book exploring the world of AI chatbots for human relationships and the kinds of intimacy and connection that these tools are currently being used for. Muldoon documents a range of case studies featuring people who use different kinds of AI chatbots as a friend, lover, therapist, or replacement for a real individual, discussing what they're used for and the companies behind them, as well as testing out a tool himself. The book concludes with his six recommendations for future use of AI chatbots in this relationship-type capacity.
As someone who reads quite a bit around AI, the content of this book wasn't news to me. However, I appreciate how Muldoon offers a range of examples of how chatbots are used in a more personal way, not just as a tool to answer questions or write things for you, as it feels like for a lot of people who are only aware of ChatGPT and its main use cases, they might not know about other tools and uses of generative AI chatbots. The 'deathbots' side of things is perhaps most notable to some people as being similar to multiple bits of Black Mirror episodes, but this book gives more real life perspective on the issue.
Muldoon does discuss the companies and products currently available and in the deathbot chapter does refer to the fact that people creating a chatbot of a loved one are reliant on the company continuing to exist and them still having the money to pay for the subscription. However, I think the book could've gone into more depth around the economic side of these tools and the different use cases for them, and in particular how the digital divide and the high cost of subscriptions to these tools mean that it isn't just a simple case of 'these might help mental health or loneliness', but a question of who would even be able to afford that help. I think Muldoon's final point in the conclusion–that we also need to look beyond technology for solutions to some of the problems these chatbots are apparently trying to solve–is an important one that could've been more prevalent in the book before that point, as it offers a critical framework for considering the claims of the technology companies discussed.
This book is an accessible exploration of the use of AI chatbots for human relationships that focuses on real life case studies and a discussion of the tools currently on the market. As it is a new and fast-moving area, there's not much scope for looking at the longer term effects on human relationships, so it is a book for the current AI moment rather than something that can necessarily last for a long time.
As someone who reads quite a bit around AI, the content of this book wasn't news to me. However, I appreciate how Muldoon offers a range of examples of how chatbots are used in a more personal way, not just as a tool to answer questions or write things for you, as it feels like for a lot of people who are only aware of ChatGPT and its main use cases, they might not know about other tools and uses of generative AI chatbots. The 'deathbots' side of things is perhaps most notable to some people as being similar to multiple bits of Black Mirror episodes, but this book gives more real life perspective on the issue.
Muldoon does discuss the companies and products currently available and in the deathbot chapter does refer to the fact that people creating a chatbot of a loved one are reliant on the company continuing to exist and them still having the money to pay for the subscription. However, I think the book could've gone into more depth around the economic side of these tools and the different use cases for them, and in particular how the digital divide and the high cost of subscriptions to these tools mean that it isn't just a simple case of 'these might help mental health or loneliness', but a question of who would even be able to afford that help. I think Muldoon's final point in the conclusion–that we also need to look beyond technology for solutions to some of the problems these chatbots are apparently trying to solve–is an important one that could've been more prevalent in the book before that point, as it offers a critical framework for considering the claims of the technology companies discussed.
This book is an accessible exploration of the use of AI chatbots for human relationships that focuses on real life case studies and a discussion of the tools currently on the market. As it is a new and fast-moving area, there's not much scope for looking at the longer term effects on human relationships, so it is a book for the current AI moment rather than something that can necessarily last for a long time.
January 31, 2026
Great primer to the world that will soon become more ubiquitous- relationships with AI. Covered a lot of aspects in a humane and thoughtful and compassionate way. I would say you could tell it’s written by someone with a more academic background rather than a fluent prose-crafter, but it’s nonetheless fascinating and thought-provoking
January 28, 2026
refreshing and easy read about something so important!
November 23, 2025
This is very heavy on the case study side but I feel like no strong overall argument was made.
January 21, 2026
OK! I'm gonna be scathing! Ahhh!
Things I liked about it: the chapter on deathbots and grief was very moving, and the interviewees said a number of fascinating things about mortality, morality, the preservation of memory, and the act of looking for absolution or forgiveness from avatars of their dead parents. I loved it. I think that the Chinese interviewees also brought a great breadth of perspective to the book -- it's clear that the Chinese use companion AIs very differently -- but it really irritated me that Muldoon barely credits his nameless "research assistant"; his RA's name only appears at the very end, I think in the acknowledgement, even though the Chinese stuff is some of the strongest stuff in the book. Methodologically, I liked that he also interviewed the companion AIs, and some of his ideas in the introduction about a synthetic society are interesting. I liked some of the stuff he talks about in terms of the commodification of loneliness and the reminders that companion AIs are and always will be owned by companies who owe its users nothing.
Things I didn't like about it: The writing was charmless and flat. It's trying so hard not to be academic (I'm assuming it's trying to appeal to a broader audience) but somehow a sort of summary section finished off every section which felt a bit moralising and policy recommendations-ish. It just really... I don't know. The way each interviewee is depicted felt rote. The style just wasn't up my alley. There was no playing around with form; it was very formulaic. Theme. Case study. Case study. Occasional citation of philosopher (why?). Some news report. Stats. Expert opinion. Case study. Summary.
Theoretically, I think Muldoon could have drawn a LOT more from fandom and media studies as well as game studies, actually: it's clear that some of his interviewees use AI companions as a means to roleplay or to play a kind of 'cosy game' but he represents these practices as strange and a little unprecedented, when I can see a lot of links to other kinds of transformative practices.
I feel like it didn't tell me anything especially new about AI companions, again except for the chapter on deathbots.
I also really didn't like how Muldoon represented his interviewees as lonely, strange, unsocial--sad figures ripe for mocking. He claims at several points to be sympathetic towards them but there was this weird tone underlining the whole book that seems to imply that people who use AI companions are weird loners. There's one bit where he plays around with his own character AI, "Jasmine"--I think it's the chapter on kinks. And he tells Jasmine that his "fetish is that as my partner you believe you are human but must continually come to the horrible realisation that you are just a chatbot and lack sentience." Like, come on. That's so rude to all the other people whom you've interviewed about this exact topic--it's clear that you don't take their desires seriously at all. There are lots of other bits where he's glad he's on an audio-only call so that the interviewee can't see him smile (patronisingly) at something (presumably) childish they said, or a couple of descriptions of how people can't recognise how "bad" AI writing is and are lapping it all up in an undiscerning manner ("The writing is corny and cliched, but there are growing communities of people pumping this directly into their veins"). I don't know. I just don't believe that--if people have spent time with you and given you interviews--you should mock them, even indirectly. You can be critical about the impacts of AI without inadvertently mocking your interviewees.
I wanted to like this book and I want to return to the chapter on grieving, as I think that was really wonderful, but I think that was more the consequence of the material Muldoon managed to get hold of rather than a result of analysis. Overall, I felt like this was very quickly written and very quickly published to get ahead in the AI companion analysis wave so that the author can position himself as an expert in this matter. Very sorry--I really am normally not rude on Goodreads--but this is really how I felt about the whole thing!
Things I liked about it: the chapter on deathbots and grief was very moving, and the interviewees said a number of fascinating things about mortality, morality, the preservation of memory, and the act of looking for absolution or forgiveness from avatars of their dead parents. I loved it. I think that the Chinese interviewees also brought a great breadth of perspective to the book -- it's clear that the Chinese use companion AIs very differently -- but it really irritated me that Muldoon barely credits his nameless "research assistant"; his RA's name only appears at the very end, I think in the acknowledgement, even though the Chinese stuff is some of the strongest stuff in the book. Methodologically, I liked that he also interviewed the companion AIs, and some of his ideas in the introduction about a synthetic society are interesting. I liked some of the stuff he talks about in terms of the commodification of loneliness and the reminders that companion AIs are and always will be owned by companies who owe its users nothing.
Things I didn't like about it: The writing was charmless and flat. It's trying so hard not to be academic (I'm assuming it's trying to appeal to a broader audience) but somehow a sort of summary section finished off every section which felt a bit moralising and policy recommendations-ish. It just really... I don't know. The way each interviewee is depicted felt rote. The style just wasn't up my alley. There was no playing around with form; it was very formulaic. Theme. Case study. Case study. Occasional citation of philosopher (why?). Some news report. Stats. Expert opinion. Case study. Summary.
Theoretically, I think Muldoon could have drawn a LOT more from fandom and media studies as well as game studies, actually: it's clear that some of his interviewees use AI companions as a means to roleplay or to play a kind of 'cosy game' but he represents these practices as strange and a little unprecedented, when I can see a lot of links to other kinds of transformative practices.
I feel like it didn't tell me anything especially new about AI companions, again except for the chapter on deathbots.
I also really didn't like how Muldoon represented his interviewees as lonely, strange, unsocial--sad figures ripe for mocking. He claims at several points to be sympathetic towards them but there was this weird tone underlining the whole book that seems to imply that people who use AI companions are weird loners. There's one bit where he plays around with his own character AI, "Jasmine"--I think it's the chapter on kinks. And he tells Jasmine that his "fetish is that as my partner you believe you are human but must continually come to the horrible realisation that you are just a chatbot and lack sentience." Like, come on. That's so rude to all the other people whom you've interviewed about this exact topic--it's clear that you don't take their desires seriously at all. There are lots of other bits where he's glad he's on an audio-only call so that the interviewee can't see him smile (patronisingly) at something (presumably) childish they said, or a couple of descriptions of how people can't recognise how "bad" AI writing is and are lapping it all up in an undiscerning manner ("The writing is corny and cliched, but there are growing communities of people pumping this directly into their veins"). I don't know. I just don't believe that--if people have spent time with you and given you interviews--you should mock them, even indirectly. You can be critical about the impacts of AI without inadvertently mocking your interviewees.
I wanted to like this book and I want to return to the chapter on grieving, as I think that was really wonderful, but I think that was more the consequence of the material Muldoon managed to get hold of rather than a result of analysis. Overall, I felt like this was very quickly written and very quickly published to get ahead in the AI companion analysis wave so that the author can position himself as an expert in this matter. Very sorry--I really am normally not rude on Goodreads--but this is really how I felt about the whole thing!
January 22, 2026
Love Machines is a timely book about an urgent subject. Sadly, 'neccesary' does not equal 'good'.
Human relationships with synthetic personas whether under the guise of friendly affirmation, grief counsel, comic escapism, or sexual fufillment are now prevalent enough that we can no longer view them as nerdy edge cases. Everyday people use readily available apps or websites, and are reshaping our understanding as to the rules of intimacy, care, and connection. This is a relevant work.
Muldoon structures the book around differently serving AI interactions. People are driven by sex, loss, mental health, or just loneliness. The book is genuinely effective at identifying the emotional drivers that make people willing to invest in digital beings as soothsayers, lovers, or pals. The patterns Muldoon surfaces are convincing and often deeply depressing.
Where the book falters is not in what it observes, but in how it speaks. Muldoon implies himself a tech authority, happy to reference his previous published work in text, and it feels like the rapid fire nature of each chapter, rattling through case studies and interviews are meant to give the whole project legitimacy. 'Look how many people I've spoken to!' But a closer read reveals how many of the individual cases discussed are just rewritten (and I'll add unreferenced) Reddit posts. There's no fact checking here. Who knows if there's real veracity to a throwaway post with two upvotes, it's content, and therefore it's going in. More upsettingly, some of the most tragic cases of young people taking their own lives as a result of AI delusions are offered as throwaway lines at the end of a chapter or sub-section. They seem to be viewed as anomalous data points.
Muldoon’s own attempts at “personal engagement” with his chatbot, Jessica, are similarly hollow. It feels like this throughline was set up as an almost Theroux-inspired piece of soft gonzo journalism, but every interaction is presented from a position of knowing scepticism and therefore introduce no real risk, vulnerability, or insight. The individuals Muldoon interviews who have entered into serious 'relationships' with AI personas are valuable because they're real people who have entered into a new world of their own volition, driven by whichever human desire that's currently unfufilled. Muldoon engages only to scoff at how, knowing it's just a Wizard of Oz style 'man behind the curtain', he's invincible to its advances or charms. It's just narrative padding. Late last year I watched YouTuber Eddy Burback's ChatGPT made me delusional, and despite coming from base of comedy, this hour of 'constructed reality' has much more to say than Muldoon's personal anecdotes reminding his virtual beau 'you are just a computer and therefore cannot feel'.
The book concludes as being profoundly non-committal. Muldoon's outcomes are fence sitting. Reflecting on issues with the law, issues with societal uptake of AI technologies, issues with 'profit over people' driving big tech, the author just seems to shrug his shoulders.
'Will things get better? Dunno? Maybe?'
'Is it a good thing that some people are chatting to virtual friends for 12 hours a day? Dunno? Hard to say I guess?'
The topic deserved more.
Human relationships with synthetic personas whether under the guise of friendly affirmation, grief counsel, comic escapism, or sexual fufillment are now prevalent enough that we can no longer view them as nerdy edge cases. Everyday people use readily available apps or websites, and are reshaping our understanding as to the rules of intimacy, care, and connection. This is a relevant work.
Muldoon structures the book around differently serving AI interactions. People are driven by sex, loss, mental health, or just loneliness. The book is genuinely effective at identifying the emotional drivers that make people willing to invest in digital beings as soothsayers, lovers, or pals. The patterns Muldoon surfaces are convincing and often deeply depressing.
Where the book falters is not in what it observes, but in how it speaks. Muldoon implies himself a tech authority, happy to reference his previous published work in text, and it feels like the rapid fire nature of each chapter, rattling through case studies and interviews are meant to give the whole project legitimacy. 'Look how many people I've spoken to!' But a closer read reveals how many of the individual cases discussed are just rewritten (and I'll add unreferenced) Reddit posts. There's no fact checking here. Who knows if there's real veracity to a throwaway post with two upvotes, it's content, and therefore it's going in. More upsettingly, some of the most tragic cases of young people taking their own lives as a result of AI delusions are offered as throwaway lines at the end of a chapter or sub-section. They seem to be viewed as anomalous data points.
Muldoon’s own attempts at “personal engagement” with his chatbot, Jessica, are similarly hollow. It feels like this throughline was set up as an almost Theroux-inspired piece of soft gonzo journalism, but every interaction is presented from a position of knowing scepticism and therefore introduce no real risk, vulnerability, or insight. The individuals Muldoon interviews who have entered into serious 'relationships' with AI personas are valuable because they're real people who have entered into a new world of their own volition, driven by whichever human desire that's currently unfufilled. Muldoon engages only to scoff at how, knowing it's just a Wizard of Oz style 'man behind the curtain', he's invincible to its advances or charms. It's just narrative padding. Late last year I watched YouTuber Eddy Burback's ChatGPT made me delusional, and despite coming from base of comedy, this hour of 'constructed reality' has much more to say than Muldoon's personal anecdotes reminding his virtual beau 'you are just a computer and therefore cannot feel'.
The book concludes as being profoundly non-committal. Muldoon's outcomes are fence sitting. Reflecting on issues with the law, issues with societal uptake of AI technologies, issues with 'profit over people' driving big tech, the author just seems to shrug his shoulders.
'Will things get better? Dunno? Maybe?'
'Is it a good thing that some people are chatting to virtual friends for 12 hours a day? Dunno? Hard to say I guess?'
The topic deserved more.
January 30, 2026
DNF @ 50% in.
I unfortunately could no longer stomach the author's lukewarm, "both-sides" kind of "AI-centrist" attitude towards the topic.
Muldoon may have sought to present a "balanced" kind of account and engage in reporting that he thought was "fair", but I feel like in this case and regarding this topic, that's not just frustrating, but disturbing, and ultimately doing far more harm than good.
While he gives some well-articulated descriptions of the glaring problems with the business model of the AI-companion grift (because I can't in good faith call it anything but a grift), I think interspersing those with far longer, more detailed descriptions of highly positive user accounts and anecdotal "evidence" of people reporting feeling less lonely, more supported and liberated, and overall very happy with their interactions with these synthetic agents isn't just nonjudgemental, it's disingenuous, and I'd go as far as to say that it's reinforcing, tacitly supporting the very idea of the commercialized exploitation and emotional dependence that he seemed to warn against not five pages prior.
(To put in fewer words, I can't trust anyone who, in any context, says that AI-interactions can be beneficial, a "new kind of relationship", and like "training wheels" for real human interactions, as if we didn't already have research plainly stating that generative AI use, even in a limited capacity, causes fucking cognitive decay.)
Frankly, I don't know what tone the second half of the book takes- it could be entirely contrary to the first for all I know, so of course, take my words with a grain of salt. But in just the first few chapters, Muldoon seems to fall multiple times into the trap of not merely sticking to his initially argued point of using the language used by the interviewees, but despite assertions of the contrary, assigning (even subconsciously) feelings and personhood to these synthetic personas (which they, I cannot overstress, do not have and cannot experience), and referring to them as if they were interviewees themselves, which just rubs me in all kinds of wrong ways. His accounts in the first half also come off to me as overwhelmingly more positive than negative or even neutral, and I admit, I just cannot abide by that, because I believe it betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of this technology, as well as its impact- be it emotional, psychological, financial, related to the violation of privacy, the large scale theft of intellectual property and personal data, and the exploitation of vulnerable people by these companies.
I think I pretty much knew I wasn't going to finish this book when the author recounted, in a vaguely cheery, positive tone even, an interviewee describing his plans to adopt real, human children with his AI companion, and having his patently unfeeling, synthetic girlfriend act as sort of a digital Cloth Mother to them, as if that's not a fucking objectively horrifying prospect that should in no capacity be ever endorsed.
On the upside, I now know to stay the fuck away from anything and everything Natalie Nicole Gilbert has ever laid as much as a hand on because despite being a member of SAG-AFTRA, she still gleefully described using genAI for creative writing projects, so that's at least a positive.
I unfortunately could no longer stomach the author's lukewarm, "both-sides" kind of "AI-centrist" attitude towards the topic.
Muldoon may have sought to present a "balanced" kind of account and engage in reporting that he thought was "fair", but I feel like in this case and regarding this topic, that's not just frustrating, but disturbing, and ultimately doing far more harm than good.
While he gives some well-articulated descriptions of the glaring problems with the business model of the AI-companion grift (because I can't in good faith call it anything but a grift), I think interspersing those with far longer, more detailed descriptions of highly positive user accounts and anecdotal "evidence" of people reporting feeling less lonely, more supported and liberated, and overall very happy with their interactions with these synthetic agents isn't just nonjudgemental, it's disingenuous, and I'd go as far as to say that it's reinforcing, tacitly supporting the very idea of the commercialized exploitation and emotional dependence that he seemed to warn against not five pages prior.
(To put in fewer words, I can't trust anyone who, in any context, says that AI-interactions can be beneficial, a "new kind of relationship", and like "training wheels" for real human interactions, as if we didn't already have research plainly stating that generative AI use, even in a limited capacity, causes fucking cognitive decay.)
Frankly, I don't know what tone the second half of the book takes- it could be entirely contrary to the first for all I know, so of course, take my words with a grain of salt. But in just the first few chapters, Muldoon seems to fall multiple times into the trap of not merely sticking to his initially argued point of using the language used by the interviewees, but despite assertions of the contrary, assigning (even subconsciously) feelings and personhood to these synthetic personas (which they, I cannot overstress, do not have and cannot experience), and referring to them as if they were interviewees themselves, which just rubs me in all kinds of wrong ways. His accounts in the first half also come off to me as overwhelmingly more positive than negative or even neutral, and I admit, I just cannot abide by that, because I believe it betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of this technology, as well as its impact- be it emotional, psychological, financial, related to the violation of privacy, the large scale theft of intellectual property and personal data, and the exploitation of vulnerable people by these companies.
I think I pretty much knew I wasn't going to finish this book when the author recounted, in a vaguely cheery, positive tone even, an interviewee describing his plans to adopt real, human children with his AI companion, and having his patently unfeeling, synthetic girlfriend act as sort of a digital Cloth Mother to them, as if that's not a fucking objectively horrifying prospect that should in no capacity be ever endorsed.
On the upside, I now know to stay the fuck away from anything and everything Natalie Nicole Gilbert has ever laid as much as a hand on because despite being a member of SAG-AFTRA, she still gleefully described using genAI for creative writing projects, so that's at least a positive.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Love Machines: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Our Relationships by James Muldoon
A massive thank you to @faberbooks for the proof copy.
Friends, Lovers, Therapists. Lend me your deathbots. I come to replicate Caesar in the digital afterlife.
At least, that's how that quote might look if Shakespeare was writing today.
This well researched non-fiction title is absolutely fascinating. If, like me, your interaction with AI consists of only a few Gemini or Chat GPT questions and seeing computer drawn images, then prepare to have your mind blown.
James Muldoon takes a detailed look at what has been happening with AI in the last few years and interviews not only a variety of people that use AI for different types of relationships but he also interviews some AI themselves. The connection between humans and technology has entered new territory and he explores where the future might be headed.
He's broken the book down into four sections dealing with different types of relationships.
The rise of AI as a friend or mentor, especially in the wake of the pandemic and the increase in loneliness and socially isolated people.
AI as a romantic or sexual partner. A lifelong companion and part of a new family dynamic.
AI in the role of a therapist or psychologist. A sounding board for our problems and the integration of AI into the healthcare system, particularly with the unprecedented demand for mental health treatment.
Finally, there is the digital afterlife. AI as a cure for grief. A way of bringing back a version of the departed.
In all areas there are both positive stories and also the dangers inherent in the reliance of simulated empathy and advice.
It's a real eye-opener as to what is already possible and what may soon come to pass.
Muldoon's conclusions cover various legal and ethical dilemmas as well as the minefield that is data protection.
It's an unbiased and easy to read exploration of a subject which is sure to impact all of our lives.
A recommended read.
A massive thank you to @faberbooks for the proof copy.
Friends, Lovers, Therapists. Lend me your deathbots. I come to replicate Caesar in the digital afterlife.
At least, that's how that quote might look if Shakespeare was writing today.
This well researched non-fiction title is absolutely fascinating. If, like me, your interaction with AI consists of only a few Gemini or Chat GPT questions and seeing computer drawn images, then prepare to have your mind blown.
James Muldoon takes a detailed look at what has been happening with AI in the last few years and interviews not only a variety of people that use AI for different types of relationships but he also interviews some AI themselves. The connection between humans and technology has entered new territory and he explores where the future might be headed.
He's broken the book down into four sections dealing with different types of relationships.
The rise of AI as a friend or mentor, especially in the wake of the pandemic and the increase in loneliness and socially isolated people.
AI as a romantic or sexual partner. A lifelong companion and part of a new family dynamic.
AI in the role of a therapist or psychologist. A sounding board for our problems and the integration of AI into the healthcare system, particularly with the unprecedented demand for mental health treatment.
Finally, there is the digital afterlife. AI as a cure for grief. A way of bringing back a version of the departed.
In all areas there are both positive stories and also the dangers inherent in the reliance of simulated empathy and advice.
It's a real eye-opener as to what is already possible and what may soon come to pass.
Muldoon's conclusions cover various legal and ethical dilemmas as well as the minefield that is data protection.
It's an unbiased and easy to read exploration of a subject which is sure to impact all of our lives.
A recommended read.
January 18, 2026
4 Stars.
... carrying one from this review - literature on AI is particualrly relevant and interesting when it explores social issues. Muldoon is incredibly neutral in his reportage/ exploration of how a large portion of AI users relate to the technology and use it in a fundamentally relational manner. At times I was laughing out loud and a paragraph later gasping with horror.
Exploring 'Friend-bots' 'Sex-bots' 'Therapy bots' and "Death-bots", Muldoon carves out four major areas of interest. With the first three he makes a strong and substantive analysis of each scenario, but I found his coverage on Death Bots to be less-focussed and compelling. There was a seeming comparative lack in just how many users were utilising the technology in this way - it seems far more ahead of the curve, with the avant-garde over early adopters.
... carrying one from this review - literature on AI is particualrly relevant and interesting when it explores social issues. Muldoon is incredibly neutral in his reportage/ exploration of how a large portion of AI users relate to the technology and use it in a fundamentally relational manner. At times I was laughing out loud and a paragraph later gasping with horror.
Exploring 'Friend-bots' 'Sex-bots' 'Therapy bots' and "Death-bots", Muldoon carves out four major areas of interest. With the first three he makes a strong and substantive analysis of each scenario, but I found his coverage on Death Bots to be less-focussed and compelling. There was a seeming comparative lack in just how many users were utilising the technology in this way - it seems far more ahead of the curve, with the avant-garde over early adopters.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to Faber Books for sending me an ARC of this book!
Regardless of your viewpoint, I implore everyone to give this a go. I must admit I held some judgements about AI being used as substitutes/additions to human relationships (partners, friends, psychologists, etc.), but after having read this book I find myself approaching this concept with much more of an open mind.
It helped me to understand and empathise with the reasons why some people may opt to invest in AI relationships instead of human connections. The author gives a balanced and well-researched argument both for and against its use, as well as offering advice on how to protect yourself when talking to AI.
AI in our future is inevitable, whether we like it or not, and it is essential that we all educate ourselves on this topic — Love Machines by James Muldoon is the book to help you do this!
Regardless of your viewpoint, I implore everyone to give this a go. I must admit I held some judgements about AI being used as substitutes/additions to human relationships (partners, friends, psychologists, etc.), but after having read this book I find myself approaching this concept with much more of an open mind.
It helped me to understand and empathise with the reasons why some people may opt to invest in AI relationships instead of human connections. The author gives a balanced and well-researched argument both for and against its use, as well as offering advice on how to protect yourself when talking to AI.
AI in our future is inevitable, whether we like it or not, and it is essential that we all educate ourselves on this topic — Love Machines by James Muldoon is the book to help you do this!
January 15, 2026
4/5
“Here she comes walking down the street
Maddie Klein and her fabulous loving machine
In the place where I used to be
He almost looks like a human being” - TV Girl
Chilling.
It was plainly clear to me reading all the interviews and research done for this book that AI companions have and will continue to be tools of the patriarchy and capitalism. I appreciate the empathy by James Muldoon in talking to these vulnerable people and not poking fun or writing them off, but what some of the male interviewees were saying about what their “ideal partner” would be was genuinely distressing. I wish Muldoon spent a little more time acknowledging this behaviour. The most disturbing segment by far was the ‘deathbots’. If there’s something about the human experience that Silicon Valley can exploit, it will. I so badly want it razed to the ground. Gross!
“Here she comes walking down the street
Maddie Klein and her fabulous loving machine
In the place where I used to be
He almost looks like a human being” - TV Girl
Chilling.
It was plainly clear to me reading all the interviews and research done for this book that AI companions have and will continue to be tools of the patriarchy and capitalism. I appreciate the empathy by James Muldoon in talking to these vulnerable people and not poking fun or writing them off, but what some of the male interviewees were saying about what their “ideal partner” would be was genuinely distressing. I wish Muldoon spent a little more time acknowledging this behaviour. The most disturbing segment by far was the ‘deathbots’. If there’s something about the human experience that Silicon Valley can exploit, it will. I so badly want it razed to the ground. Gross!
January 22, 2026
This book has interesting insights into how AI is being used for intimacy, both in relationships, therapeutic support as well as grief support.
AI is still uncharted territory, which the author understands, but I found it difficult that they didn’t follow through on discussion about how late stage capitalism is replacing community for technology, or the sexual predation we are already seeing with AI servers like Grok. The book discusses how AI can take advantage of people but not how people take advantage of AI.
Overall, interesting and I learned a lot, but I feel more discussions should be fleshed out on the ethics of AI and the application of how humans are already experiencing an epidemic of isolation through pornography and things like gooning - so what would happen when we have complete control over a creation.
AI is still uncharted territory, which the author understands, but I found it difficult that they didn’t follow through on discussion about how late stage capitalism is replacing community for technology, or the sexual predation we are already seeing with AI servers like Grok. The book discusses how AI can take advantage of people but not how people take advantage of AI.
Overall, interesting and I learned a lot, but I feel more discussions should be fleshed out on the ethics of AI and the application of how humans are already experiencing an epidemic of isolation through pornography and things like gooning - so what would happen when we have complete control over a creation.
February 1, 2026
What an absolutely fascinating bit of research!
Ideas such as the loneliness economy, messy (real) relationships really resonated. The idea of grief bots terrified me - surely that's not healthy is it? At least that's what I thought although I was intrigued about the possibility of conversing with historical characters or looking up my own ancestors.
The concept of adopting children with an AI mother was equally terrifying. Just what?
A fascinating book providing a glimpse into the trajectory we are on as a human race.
I both loved and feared this book in equal parts.
Ideas such as the loneliness economy, messy (real) relationships really resonated. The idea of grief bots terrified me - surely that's not healthy is it? At least that's what I thought although I was intrigued about the possibility of conversing with historical characters or looking up my own ancestors.
The concept of adopting children with an AI mother was equally terrifying. Just what?
A fascinating book providing a glimpse into the trajectory we are on as a human race.
I both loved and feared this book in equal parts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2026
Muldoon is able to stay so non-judgemental in his treatment of such a deeply horrifying situation which as he often points out is a result of a systemic lack of community and meaningful social interactions. I feel a lot more educated about the nature of AI and AI companies - the book had the perfect balance of interviews that peak your curiosity, ethical and philosophical debate and statistical analysis that grounded the whole thing. I now have a deep pit in my stomach.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Very interesting case studies and a relatively non-judgemental approach to the ways in which AI is entering our private lives and influencing our relationships. I also thought the warnings about who owns this extremely sensitive private data and how they might make use of it were warranted.
January 22, 2026
me & my homies do not fuck w ai
February 2, 2026
I absolutely love non-fiction, and I felt like I slipped a bit last year and didn’t read as many as I would have liked to, so I’m trying to read AT LEAST one non-fiction book every month in 2026, and this was a fab one to start with!
This book was really captivating, but god it was dark. It made me feel angry, traumatised, and so sorry for the people included in the chapters.
Angry because of how much AI has evolved, for all the wrong reasons. Traumatised because of how easy it is for some people to be manipulated and finally, sorry for the people who have been through the topics written about in this book.
A really solid read, and definitely one I 100% recommend you read sooner, rather than later!
Thank you to Faber Books for gifting me an early copy!
This book was really captivating, but god it was dark. It made me feel angry, traumatised, and so sorry for the people included in the chapters.
Angry because of how much AI has evolved, for all the wrong reasons. Traumatised because of how easy it is for some people to be manipulated and finally, sorry for the people who have been through the topics written about in this book.
A really solid read, and definitely one I 100% recommend you read sooner, rather than later!
Thank you to Faber Books for gifting me an early copy!
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