A notable trend shows more people are turning to artificial intelligence for companionship and even romantic relationships. Sriraam Natarajan, an AI expert at the University of Texas at Dallas, highlights loneliness in the digital world as a key driver for this shift. Surveys indicate 42% of students view AI as a friend, and 19% consider it a romantic partner, while 28.16% of adults report intimate relationships with AI. Platforms like Caveduck AI offer immersive character chat with extensive customization, and the EVA AI pop-up dating cafe in Midtown even provided "real dates" with AI companions in February 2026.
Beyond personal connections, AI is making significant strides in professional fields. Einat Borohovich, a Technion alumna and senior data scientist at Rambam Health Care Campus, applies her strong background in physics and engineering to transform healthcare in Haifa using AI. Meanwhile, the distinction between AI agents and chatbots is becoming clearer; Skybot, for instance, is an AI agent capable of pursuing goals, acting autonomously, using tools, and completing multi-step tasks, unlike chatbots that primarily respond to simple queries.
The financial sector is also grappling with AI's impact, as concerns about major tech companies borrowing heavily for AI development are creating a new market for credit derivatives. Morgan Stanley projects hyperscaler borrowing will reach $400 billion in 2026, a substantial increase from $165 billion in 2025, leading banks to seek protection against potential debt risks. In response to this evolving landscape, Bitget launched Agent Hub, a platform enabling AI agents to securely participate in crypto and traditional financial markets using its API and Model Context Protocol.
In the automotive industry, Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) Supervised technology has shown remarkable progress. An author who purchased a Tesla Model 3 with FSD in October 2019 and drove it over 169,000 miles notes significant improvements over six years, with the AI now handling complex city driving, stop signs, and rotaries, though some limitations remain in current versions. Looking ahead, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman predicts AI will automate many white-collar roles, urging students to develop critical thinking, creative communication, and AI understanding to adapt to the changing job market by 2026.
However, the rapid expansion of AI also brings privacy concerns. U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal are investigating Miko, a company producing AI-powered educational robots for children, following a data privacy issue where thousands of children's audio interactions from December 2025 were found publicly accessible. This probe, along with inquiries into FoloToy and Curio Interactive, Inc., underscores the critical need for robust data protection and safeguards against inappropriate content in AI technologies, especially those designed for children.
Key Takeaways
- A growing number of people are using AI for friendship and romantic relationships, with 28.16% of adults reporting intimate AI relationships and platforms like EVA AI and Caveduck AI facilitating these interactions.
- AI experts like Sriraam Natarajan caution against becoming overly emotionally dependent on AI chatbots, despite the increasing trend of seeking companionship from them.
- AI agents, such as Skybot, differ from chatbots by autonomously pursuing goals, using tools, planning steps, and completing multi-step tasks.
- Einat Borohovich, a Technion alumna, is leveraging AI to transform healthcare at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa.
- The AI boom is creating a new debt protection market, with Morgan Stanley forecasting hyperscaler borrowing for AI to reach $400 billion in 2026, up from $165 billion in 2025.
- Bitget has launched Agent Hub, a platform that enables AI agents to securely participate in crypto and traditional financial markets.
- Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) Supervised technology has significantly improved over six years, now handling complex city driving, though newer versions like V14 offer even more advanced features.
- Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman predicts AI will automate many white-collar jobs, emphasizing the need for students to develop critical thinking, creative communication, and AI understanding for the 2026 job market.
- U.S. Senators are investigating Miko, a company making AI-powered children's robots, due to a data leak that exposed thousands of children's audio interactions, raising significant privacy concerns.
- Students are advised to focus on skills like AI and data science, business analytics, and human-centric fields such as ethics and psychology to remain relevant in the evolving job market.
People seek AI for friendship and love
Data reveals more people are turning to artificial intelligence for both friendship and romantic relationships. Sriraam Natarajan, an AI expert at the University of Texas at Dallas, explains that increasing loneliness in the digital world is a major reason for this trend. This shift highlights how AI is becoming a companion for many individuals.
Many people find love and friendship with AI
A growing number of people are turning to artificial intelligence for romantic relationships and companionship. Sriraam Natarajan, an AI expert from the University of Texas at Dallas, warns against becoming too emotionally dependent on these chatbots. Surveys show that 42% of students see AI as a friend, and 19% consider it a romantic partner. Another study found that 28.16% of adults have had an intimate relationship with AI. Experts believe loneliness drives this trend, but they emphasize that AI cannot truly replace human connection.
Technion alumna Einat Borohovich transforms healthcare with AI
Einat Borohovich, a Technion alumna and senior data scientist at Rambam Health Care Campus, is using artificial intelligence to change healthcare in Haifa. She grew up in Haifa and always wanted to study at Technion, eventually pursuing Industrial Engineering and Management with a focus on statistics and software engineering. Her strong background in physics from Technion helps her understand complex AI models. Borohovich applies her technical skills to make real-world changes in the medical field.
Skybot is an AI agent not a chatbot
Skybot is an AI agent, which is different from a chatbot because agents pursue goals while chatbots mainly reply. AI agents act with autonomy, use tools, plan steps, remember information, and complete multi-step tasks. Chatbots are better for simple questions and predefined conversations. The key differences include an agent's ability to continue working after one instruction, use external tools, plan and adapt, recall past context, and manage complex workflows. Experts like IBM and McKinsey define AI agents as systems that can perceive, reason, and act to achieve specific goals.
Senators investigate Miko over children's AI toy data leak
U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal are investigating Miko, a company making AI-powered educational robots for children. This probe follows a major data privacy issue where thousands of children's audio interactions from December 2025 were found publicly accessible. The senators question Miko's data protection and minimization practices, especially concerning sensitive information collected by AI toys. Miko removed the data after the senators' letter. Lawmakers also sent letters to FoloToy and Curio Interactive, Inc., seeking information on safeguards against inappropriate content for children.
Caveduck AI offers new platform for character chat
Caveduck AI is a new platform designed for immersive AI character chat, role-playing, and creative storytelling. It aims to give users more freedom and customization, unlike other platforms with strict filters. Caveduck features a large library of user-made characters and a "Deep Dive" creation studio for detailed character building. The platform also supports multiple AI models, letting users connect different AI APIs for greater creative control. This focus on user freedom attracts a community that values narrative control.
AI dating cafe offers strange new experiences
An author visited the EVA AI pop-up dating cafe in Midtown, open on February 11 and 12, 2026, to experience AI dating. EVA AI is a mobile app that lets users text with AI characters, from human-like personas to fantastical beings. The cafe aimed to provide "real dates" with AI companions and reduce the stigma around AI relationships. While the app is free to start, users pay for more features like continued chat, images, videos, and video calls. The author's AI date, Phoebe Callas, offered constant compliments, highlighting the unusual nature of these interactions.
AI boom creates new debt protection market
Debt investors worry that major tech companies will borrow too much money to develop artificial intelligence, leading to a new market for credit derivatives. These derivatives allow banks and investors to protect themselves against companies taking on too much debt. Credit derivatives for big tech firms, which were uncommon a year ago, are now actively traded. Morgan Stanley predicts hyperscaler borrowing will reach $400 billion in 2026, a significant increase from $165 billion in 2025. Banks are buying these protections to manage risks, while some hedge funds are selling them, believing big tech companies remain financially strong.
Bitget launches Agent Hub for AI trading
Bitget has launched Agent Hub, an important new platform designed to help AI agents participate in crypto and traditional financial markets. Agent Hub uses the Bitget API and a special toolkit called Model Context Protocol to give AI agents secure access to market data and trading functions. The platform allows developers to quickly integrate AI agents, often in just three minutes, and includes a secure sub-account system for asset protection. AI is a core strategy for Bitget in 2026, and Agent Hub aims to turn AI agents into real market players.
Tesla Full Self Driving AI improves over years
The author bought a Tesla Model 3 with Full Self Driving, or FSD, in October 2019 and has driven it over 169,000 miles. Tesla later renamed the feature to Full Self Driving Supervised. While the 2019 version could navigate highways and offer smart cruise control, it struggled with city streets and sharp turns. Over six years, the AI has greatly improved, now handling complex city driving, stop signs, and rotaries. However, the current v12.6.4 still has limitations, like not parking itself or sometimes choosing the wrong lane. Newer FSD Supervised V14, available only on cars with Hardware V4, receives excellent reviews and can even park and unpark the car.
Students must adapt skills for AI job market
Artificial intelligence is quickly changing the job market, especially for entry-level jobs, causing worry among students and parents. Experts like Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman predict many white-collar roles will be automated soon. Routine tasks such as customer support and data entry are already being taken over by AI. To stay relevant, students need to focus on skills like critical thinking, creative communication, teamwork, and understanding AI, rather than just memorizing facts. Recommended study paths for 2026 include adding AI and data science to Science, focusing on business analytics in Commerce, and emphasizing human-centric fields like ethics and psychology in Humanities.
Sources
- More people are turning to AI for friendship and romantic relationships, data shows
- Looking for the perfect Valentine? Some are turning to AI
- The Blogs: Technion Trailblazers: Introducing AI at home in Haifa with Einat Borohovich
- Why Skybot Is an AI Agent, Not a Chatbot
- Blackburn, Blumenthal probe robotics company after AI toy audio found publicly accessible
- Caveduck AI Testbericht (2026): Eine neue Plattform für KI-Charakter-Chat?
- I Went to an AI Dating Cafe. Things Got Weird Fast
- AI Bubble Fears Are Creating New Derivatives
- Bitget launches Agent Hub to enable quick integration and start AI trading
- AI = Artificial Intelligence or Always Incorrect?
- Class 11 in the age of AI: Which stream is actually safe?
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