SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Almost 50 per cent of young adults in six major economies think AI romantic companionship will improve human happiness through emotional support in the next decade, the results of a large survey suggested Monday.

The percentage dropped progressively across older age categories to just a quarter of people aged 55 and over, according to the research shared exclusively with AFP.

Leaps in AI development have seen people turn to chatbots as confidants and lovers, while advancements in robotics are helping produce more sophisticated sex dolls — raising questions over the impact on human relationships.

The survey of nearly 10,000 people across the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, Indonesia and Hong Kong provides a snapshot of this “rapidly changing moral landscape”, pollsters YouGov said.

It also shows “a profound ideological split between Western and Asian markets”, with the latter seemingly more accepting of technologically enabled sex and romance.

In terms of emotional support, 48 percent of all respondents aged 18-24 and 47 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds said they thought “AI intimacy companions” — a category ranging from chatbots to sex dolls — would improve human happiness in the next decade.

When the same question was asked focusing on deeper connection and sexual wellbeing, the figures came in at 32 percent and 38 percent respectively.

On both counts, older people were less optimistic.

The psychological impact of chatbots on vulnerable people has been under scrutiny, with the deaths of several teenagers linked to AI use by their families.

– Geographic split –

YouGov and the media company that commissioned the research, Tokyo-based Star X Gen, told AFP they were surprised by the regional disparity.

In Indonesia, 50 percent of people — of all ages — said they thought AI companions would improve connection and sexual wellness.

It was 34 percent in Hong Kong and 24 percent in Japan, declining to 20 percent in the United States, 15 percent in Germany and just nine percent in Britain.

“While Western audiences largely view synthetic intimacy as a threat to authentic human closeness, Asian audiences appear increasingly ready to integrate AI into their personal and physical lives,” said YouGov’s Philippe Chan.

While the use of AI chatbots for romance and sex is becoming more commonplace, their embodiment in robots or dolls is at a more nascent stage.

Across all 9,912 respondents, only 17 percent said they would consider using an “AI intimacy doll”, compared to 59 percent who said they would not.

Across the board, younger adults were more likely than older ones to consider using a doll — and in Japan and Germany, the number of younger people who would think about trying a doll was nearly double the national average.

“While the global (general population) remains wary, the next generation is actively redefining the boundaries of companionship,” the report said.

In Japan, over a third of younger adults said they believed AI dolls could provide a sense of love, outnumbering those who disagreed.