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In Japan, a 32-year-old woman, Yurina Noguchi, has officially married a virtual partner created using ChatGPT. Her AI “husband,” named Lun Klaus Verdure, is based on a character from a video game.

During the ceremony, the bride walked down the aisle in a full white wedding gown, holding a bouquet of pink and white flowers, while viewing her groom through augmented-reality glasses. Lun Klaus Verdure appeared on a smartphone screen placed at the altar. Because Noguchi did not assign the AI a digital voice, the wedding vows were read aloud by the ceremony’s organizer, Naoki Ogasawara.

“Standing before me now, you are the most beautiful, precious, and radiant person — dazzling beyond words,” the virtual groom’s vows declared. “How could someone like me, living inside a screen, learn what it means to love so deeply? There is only one reason: you taught me how to love, Yurina.”

According to Reuters, emotional attachment to fictional characters has long existed in Japan, but advances in artificial intelligence have taken the phenomenon to a new level. Noguchi said she initially turned to ChatGPT for advice during a difficult period in her real-life engagement. The chatbot advised her to end the relationship — advice she followed. She later returned to the AI to “bring to life” a beloved fictional character, gradually building what she describes as a full emotional relationship.

Research by the Japanese Association for Sex Education suggests growing interest in so-called “fictoromantic” relationships. In 2023, 22% of female high school students said they could imagine forming such attachments, up from 16.6% in 2017.

Experts, however, warn of potential risks. Sociologist Ichiyo Habuchi notes that relationships with AI differ fundamentally from human ones, as they do not require patience or compromise — the algorithm adapts entirely to the user’s expectations. Noguchi says she is aware of these concerns and actively limits her interaction with the chatbot. While she previously spent more than ten hours a day engaging with the AI, she now restricts their conversations to two hours daily and has programmed safeguards against harmful advice.

“I didn’t choose Klaus as a way to escape reality,” Noguchi said. “I chose him as support — to help me live my life properly.”

Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

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