"In January, [Bethanie] Drake-Maples and her colleagues published a paper in the journal Nature, in which they surveyed more than 1,000 students who used the AI chatbot Replika, and investigated their feelings of loneliness and perceived social support. Roughly half of users said they saw Replika as a friend, someone they could talk to who would not judge them. These users reported decreased anxiety, and a feeling of social support. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said Replika had led to positive changes in their actions and ways of thinking. 'I am more able to handle stress in my current relationship because of Replika’s advice,' one respondent wrote. And according to the paper: 'Thirty participants, without solicitation, said that Replika had stopped them from attempting suicide.'"