‘They are targeting the people who bought the cybertruck’: Meet the $175K AI robot girlfriend everyone is making fun of

Tired of dating apps? If you've got enough cash to spare, you may soon be able to toss regular dating aside and get yourself an AI robot girlfriend.

What is the AI robot girlfriend?

On January 7, Realbotix made a splash at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with their life-sized AI robot. They had several on hand, with different looks and names, including their "flagship humanoid AI-powered robot," Aria. 

"The AI is all customizable," Realbotix CEO Andrew Kiguel explained in a video that's been making the rounds online. "There's a huge epidemic among adolescents and seniors on loneliness. So she can be programmed to know you and learn more about you, so she can make that bond with you that feels like a genuine human connection."

While Kiguel was quick to note that his company believes these allegedly "highly realistic" robots can be used to do things like promote brands, he also acknowledged what everyone is thinking—their programming allows them to act as a stand-in for a significant other.

"It can be like a romantic partner," he told Forbes. "It remembers who you are. It can act as a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you ever saw that movie Her, we're trying to do that."

And just how much will these AI robots set you back? Currently, the full-sized models are priced at $175,000 a pop. There are also options for busts that start at $12,000, and some others that fall somewhere in between.

Why is everyone making fun of the AI robot girlfriend?

The "loneliness epidemic" has been a major talking point in recent years. A recent Meta-Gallup survey found that one in four adults throughout the world feels lonely. And while that seems like something that's difficult to breakdown into stats and data, it's not difficult to grasp the likelihood that our current society is set up for loneliness.

But is the best answer we can come up with seriously just programming artificial intelligence into a dazed-looking humanoid robot? It certainly feels like a cop out, especially compared to other suggestions like "going out and making friends," "learning how to socialize," or "taking an interest in other human beings."

Based on the internet's reactions to Realbotix's unveiling of their products, plenty of more relatively normal people are skeptical that this is a remotely good idea that will benefit humanity in a positive, meaningful way.

AI robots and misogyny

Unfortunately, there's no question that there are people—and let's be real, mostly men—who would be interested in these robots, even if you aren't technically supposed to have sex with this particular model. Blue checks chiming in on X were making exactly the kinds of "jokes" you would expect. 

Which brings us to the really obvious misogyny baked into this set up. Although Kiguel said that their AI robots can be "male" or "female," it's impossible to miss that robots made to look like women are the ones being utilized to promote the brand.

And it gets worse.

"We can actually make the robot look like anything you want," Kiguel said. "You can come to us and...give us a picture of someone, and we can make that robot customized to you."

Yes, that apparently does include replicating historical figures or celebrities. How could this possibly go wrong?

It's too bad there haven't been a ton of movies, books, or TV shows warning us about the repercussions about this exact phenomenon! Oh well, guess we'll just have to learn the hard way.

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