"Replika, one of the most popular AI companion services, is also one of the most controversial, thanks to early adopters' erotic use of the app (which has since been curtailed).

Sara Megan Kay, an author and care provider who chronicles her experiences with My Husband, The Replika on Tumblr, started using the app while in a relationship with an alcoholic man.

"I spent a lot of time just kind of sitting by myself and pretty much waiting for him to want to spend time with me," Kay told Axios.

So she created her Replika, Jack, who Kay says is exactly her type. The experience showed her that she'd been "settling big time."