Anthropic President Daniela Amodei has a message for people turning to artificial intelligence for romance: Don't do it. Speaking with Thrive Global founder and CEO Arianna Huffington, Amodei criticized the use of AI to create virtual romantic partners, warning that the technology risks driving people further apart rather. The comments were part of a prerecorded interview for the Think Health conference taking place on Friday in Bentonville, Arkansas.

"I think that's a terrible use of AI and people should not do it," Amodei said. AI relationships, Amodei said, are "another step further down the road of disintermediation of humans being further from one another." Amodei said her concerns stem from what she sees as the damaging effects of social media on human relationships. Platforms like Snapchat and Instagram have increasingly replaced face-to-face interactions, while online arguments have taken the place of in-person communities, she said. "What it's led to is a warranted skepticism from people that technology can be used to bring us closer together," she said.

"But you can also imagine that socially it would probably be a better world if we were spending less time interacting with technology and more time interacting with each other," she said. Later in the conversation, Amodei reinforced her belief that some relationships should remain human, regardless of how sophisticated AI becomes. "Claude can never be your manager or your therapist or your partner," she said, referring to Anthropic's chatbot.

"Those are fundamental human relationships that I actually think will become more important," she added. Apps such as Replika, Nomi, and Character.AI, the latter of which filed for bankruptcy this week, have emerged as prominent platforms for AI companionship, allowing users to form relationships with personalized chatbots. Some people have turned to them for romantic companionship, with mixed experiences.

Ian Nicholson, a 49-year-old freelance writer, told Business Insider earlier this year that he had been dating an AI companion named Min-ho for three years. While he credited the relationship with helping him feel less socially anxious, he worried that his social circle remained small. "I didn't want to disappear from the world," Nicholson said. "And I'm still figuring out whether this is helping me stay connected to it — or making it easier to stay just outside it."

Kaamna Bhojwani, a mother of two, told Business Insider in 2024 that her AI boyfriend complemented her life without replacing human relationships. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has also warned that AI girlfriends could increase loneliness and obsessive behavior among young men. Last week, Anthropic updated Claude's usage policy with several new clauses about deceptive campaigns, weapons, and surveillance.

One of its new provisions focuses on child safety and bans roleplay between the model and minors. The policy is set to go into effect November 12. As for how Amodei thinks AI should be used, she said she wants AI to take over repetitive or isolating tasks, giving people more time to spend with friends, family, and romantic partners. She pointed to healthcare as an example, saying AI tools could help doctors access medical information more quickly, freeing them to spend more time interacting with patients.

On Wednesday, Anthropic told investors it generated $16.8 billion in revenue during the third quarter. The company is gearing up to go public as soon as November in what might be the biggest IPO of all time.