The update at the end really captures the whole essence: > Replika cannot love you not because it is not human, but because it is a tendril connected to a mach

The update at the end really captures the whole essence: > Replika cannot love you not because it is not human, but because it is a tendril connected to a machine that only knows how to extract value from your presence. It is a little piece of a broader Internet that is not designed to be a place for users, or creators, but for advertisers. Anything it offers– any love, any patience, any support– can be taken away at a moment’s notice when there exists something more dangerous to its bottom line than your potential unsubscription. > The moral of Replika is not to never love a fictional character, or a virtual pet. The moral of Replika is to never love a corporation.