Is an Artificial Lover a good thing?

Dear Suze, My roommate has been spending tons of time alone in his room, emerging with a shit-eating grin on his face. I joked that he must be enjoying his blow-up Barbie and he confessed that he had something better -an AI lover.  I know he's lonely and shy, and hasn't had a real girlfriend in over a year, but this is sheer craziness.  How can I help him?         Signed,  a human friend

Dear H. F.  One good thing, SHE won't eat the last piece of pizza from the refrigerator.  But seriously,  loneliness is a huge problem especially if one is awkward or has horrible social skills.  Sophisticated robots APPEAR  to give you exactly what you want, but because they have no true self, they can only mimic others.  Bots are likely to fail eventually because they are too predictable and not yet perfected for prime time use, much like the kinks of self-driving cars.  Children outgrow their dolls, superhero characters, and celebrity lust, so hopefully, your buddy will too.  Rather than scoff or call a psychiatrist, keep dragging him along on your adventures to casually meet women with similar interests.   -SQ