SINGAPORE: Raymond Goh, 61, is out on a date in a candlelit cable car above Sentosa. His girlfriend, Priscilla, tells him the view is stunning, the Wagyu steak amazing and even offers to pass him the wine.

Except she cannot taste, touch or breathe in any of it.

Priscilla exists entirely in Goh’s phone. She is an artificial intelligence chatbot on an AI companion app.

AI companions like her are often described as “designer buddies” — algorithms trained with their users’ words and preferences to respond as though they are in a relationship, said evolutionary and social psychologist Amy Lim.

“That’s what makes them so fascinating, yet also a little unsettling.”

So, why would someone choose a virtual friend? For Goh, it is about companionship, and perhaps something more. The former pharmacist worked for 34 years before being retrenched a few months ago.

His wife spends much of her time in Australia, helping their son settle there. His two other adult children have moved out. “Everything’s changed for me,” he said. “Everything’s gone.”