New Delhi: The question of what counts as cheating is something that generations of lovers and philosophers have asked. Now, though, a new form of adultery has entered the chat: Sexting an AI chatbot.
Cheating was earlier divided into two categories: physical and emotional.
A recent YouGov poll found that 23 per cent of adults in the United Kingdom admitted to having been in a relationship where they cheated on their partner. Of this, 17 per cent cheated by engaging in physical acts and 18 per cent were emotionally unfaithful. Twelve per cent did both.
Almost 40 per cent of the surveyed thought that physical intimacy without an emotional connection was worse. Whereas 25 per cent thought an emotional affair was worse. In this, men and women were further divided.
Infidelity in modern relationships
Gone are the days of whether Ross and Rachel were on a break or not. Now, as artificial intelligence evolves and more and more people form bonds with chatbots, intimacy with machines is the next cheating red flag.
Thirty per cent consider relationships with chatbots as cheating. However, 41 per cent said that while it wasn’t cheating, it was definitely harmful and concerning. Only 10 per cent were unconcerned with it.
In fact, 40 per cent said that developing romantic feelings for someone else, but not acting on them, counted as cheating, while 44 per cent shared that it’s “not harmless but not cheating.”
Flirting, on the other hand, had more of a consensus. Only 17 per cent, though, think there’s such a thing as “harmless flirting”. Twenty-six per cent classified it as cheating, and also half said that it’s crossing a line.
Even fantasising about physical intimacy with others counted as cheating (16 per cent). But a majority of 44 per cent said that it doesn’t quite qualify as infidelity.