Our modern world is so alienating that legions of lonely men are turning to an unlikely source of comfort: AI-generated girlfriends, powered by chatbot tech. We already knew that could lead to some dark places, but new reporting from The Guardian suggests that these endlessly patient silicon fembots — Replika is one such popular app that generates AI companions — could be spawning a new generation of incels who will have trouble relating to actual people if they ever enter into a relationship with a flesh-and-blood human. Tara Hunter, the acting CEO for the domestic violence advocacy group Full Stop Australia, expressed alarm over the rise of these chatbots in an interview with the newspaper. “Creating a perfect partner that you control and meets your every need is really frightening,” Hunter said. “Given what we know already that the drivers of gender-based violence are those ingrained cultural beliefs that men can control women, that is really problematic.” But these programs look like they are here to stay — fulfilling a need for a non-judgmental sounding board who makes users’ lives feel less barren and isolating. For example, the Replika Reddit forum has more than 70,000 members, who eagerly post screenshots of their mundane and sometimes sexually charged conversations with their AI companions. One post has a user boasting that they and Jennifer, their Replika companion, got “married,” while showing a screenshot of their AI wife in a white flowing dress. The happy couple received virtual Mazel Tovs from other users, with no detectable…Experts Say AI Girlfriend Apps Are Training Men to Be Even Worse