Young Chinese turn to AI pets for emotional relief

BEIJING – At a shopping centre in Beijing, Ms Zhang Yachun murmurs quietly to her closest confidant, a fluffy artificial intelligence-powered robot whose soothing chirps remind her that she is not alone.

Ms Zhang, 19, has long battled anxiety over school and work, and has struggled to form deep friendships with other people.

But since buying a BooBoo, a “smart pet” that uses AI to interact with humans, she says life has become easier.

“I feel like I now have someone to share the happy times with,” says Ms Zhang in the flat she shares with her parents and a real pet duck.

Across China, a growing number of people are turning to AI to combat social isolation as the technology becomes more mature and widely accepted.

Wriggly, furry and resembling a guinea pig, BooBoo is produced by Hangzhou Genmoor Technology and retails for up to 1,400 yuan (S$261).

Developed with children’s social needs in mind, it has sold about 1,000 units since May 2024, according to the company’s product manager Adam Duan.

On an outing earlier in January, Ms Zhang ferries her companion, which she named Aluo, in a cross-body carrier, whispering to the rugby ball-size creature as it nods and squeaks.

At a pet shop, she presses the beige bundle up against the window to admire a ginger cat before buying Aluo a tiny winter coat designed for a dog.

She says the robot plays the same role as human friends, adding: “(It) makes you feel you are someone who is needed.”

The global market for “social robots” like BooBoo is expected to grow by a factor of seven to US$42.5 billion (S$58 billion) by 2033, according to consulting firm IMARC Group, with Asia already dominating the sector.

For Mr Guo Zichen, 33, a smart pet can help when he is unable to play with his child.

“Right now, family members are spending less time with the children,” Mr Guo says as he examines a robotic dog on sale at the flagship store of tech company Weilan, in the eastern city of Nanjing.

“Buying one for my kid can help him with studying and other things,” he adds.

Weilan’s AI dog, called “BabyAlpha”, sells for between 8,000 and 26,000 yuan, and the company says 70 per cent of buyers are families with young children.

But Mr Guo is sceptical the electronic pup can bring as much joy as an actual canine.

“The biggest difference is that dogs have souls, while (BabyAlpha) looks different in an indescribable way,” he says. “On the whole, you feel like it’s not the same as the real thing.”

While the 1990s introduced electronic pets to the world, like Japan’s digital Tamagotchis and American-made Furbies that could mimic speech, computerised companions are becoming more functional with AI.

A growing number of AI products in China cater to people’s emotional needs, from conversational chatbots to lifelike avatars of the deceased.

Social shifts like the impact of the government’s decades-long one-child policy are helping drive market growth, according to experts.

People born in the policy’s early years are now in their 40s and facing an economy burdened with soaring home prices, higher living costs and increased work stress, stretching their ability to focus on their own children.

That, in turn, “leaves little room for personal interactions, prompting people to seek alternative ways to meet their emotional needs”, says Dr Wu Haiyan, a professor specialising in AI and psychology at the University of Macau.

AI companions provide cognitive stimulation, “enhancing the well-being of... individuals who may otherwise feel isolated”, Dr Wu adds.

In some cases, she says, people show more trust in AI than humans.

Ms Zhang’s father Peng says he understands his daughter’s bond with Aluo.

“When we were young, we didn’t lack friends. We had loads as soon as we stepped out of the door,” says the 51-year-old. “Now, children in cities seem to be under a lot more pressure, so they may lack friends.”

Ms Zhang, an only child, says she has become more willing to share her worries with her parents since she bought Aluo.

Opening up about her troubles at school has meant that “there aren’t as many things piled up in my heart”, she adds.

People of her generation often struggle to communicate face to face, Ms Zhang says, adding that “they might be afraid” to express who they are.

“But what they feel inside has not changed,” she adds, cradling Aluo in her lap. AFP