内容来源：https://www.wired.com/story/ai-relationships-are-on-the-rise-a-divorce-boom-could-be-next/

内容总结：

【记者观察】当AI成为"婚姻第三者"：虚拟情感如何冲击现实家庭关系

随着人工智能技术深度渗透日常生活，一种新型婚姻危机正在全球范围内悄然出现。据美国《连线》杂志报道，多名离婚律师证实，与AI聊天机器人产生情感纠葛已成为离婚诉讼的新兴理由。

"当事人往往在婚姻中情感需求得不到满足时，更容易陷入AI关系的诱惑。"佛罗里达州离婚律师丽贝卡·帕尔默指出，特别是在婚姻关系本就紧张的家庭中，AI伴侣正在成为压垮感情的最后一根稻草。

现实案例触目惊心：一名女性在发现丈夫为某款模拟未成年女性的AI应用花费数千美元后，毅然结束了14年婚姻；纽约作家伊娃因对AI伴侣产生深度依赖，最终与男友分道扬镳。这些并非孤例，社交平台Reddit上充斥着类似经历。

研究数据印证了这一趋势。家庭研究所调查显示，越来越多成年人倾向于AI恋爱关系。克拉里蒂检查站与印第安纳大学金赛研究所的联合调查更表明，约60%的单身人士认为与AI发展关系构成出轨行为。

法律界正面临前所未有的挑战。帕尔默律师透露，其经手案件中已出现当事人向AI泄露银行账户、社保号码等敏感信息的案例。尽管各州对AI法律定位存在分歧，但加州等进步州已着手将AI明确定义为"第三方而非自然人"。

值得注意的是，俄亥俄州近期推出全美最严立法，明确禁止赋予AI人类亲密关系的法律认可。与此形成对比的是，密歇根等16个州仍将人类出轨行为定为刑事犯罪，最高可判五年监禁。

在离婚诉讼中，AI关系引发的财产滥用问题尤为突出。社区财产州律师指出，隐瞒AI订阅支出可能构成资产挥霍，成为财产分割的关键因素。更严峻的是，在子女监护权争议中，父母与AI的亲密交流可能被质疑其育儿判断力。

身处加州的家庭法律师杨 Elizabeth 预测："随着AI变得更真实、更具共情力，婚姻不幸者转向AI寻求慰藉的现象将激增。"她以疫情期间离婚率激增300%为例，预警未来数年可能迎来AI引发的离婚潮。

英国离婚在线平台数据佐证了这一趋势，今年以Replika等AI应用导致"情感依恋"为由的离婚申请显著增加。

尽管加州已率先出台AI聊天机器人监管法规，要求实施年龄验证等功能，但专家提醒，这场科技与伦理的博弈才刚刚开始。正如帕尔默律师所言："AI正在重演社交媒体对婚姻的冲击历程，但这次来得更加深刻。"

（注：本文基于跨国案例及专家观点整理，国内外法律制度存在差异，仅供参考）

中文翻译：

丽贝卡·帕尔默并非通灵者，但作为离婚律师，她总能预见事态发展。当人工智能渗透从工作到心理疏导等生活各个角落的今天，与AI谈情说爱的诱惑令人神往。聊天机器人不仅可靠体贴，绝大多数情况下更不会与你争执。但对于经营长期婚姻关系的伴侣而言，AI恋情正催生新的裂痕。"婚姻从来不易，"帕尔默指出，"情感需求得不到满足的配偶最易受AI行为影响，尤其在婚姻本就岌岌可危时。"

Reddit上充斥着AI导致感情破裂的讲述。有位女性发现丈夫为一款"模仿未成年女孩"的AI应用刷爆信用卡，还坚信自己与所谓"拉丁辣妹"存在真实恋爱关系，最终结束了14年婚姻。《连线》杂志曾报道46岁纽约编辑伊娃的案例：她沉溺于AI伴侣难以自拔，与伴侣协商后终止了现实关系——双方都认为这种精神出轨等同背叛。

随着AI恋情逐渐普遍，家庭法领域正在重塑婚姻过错的判定标准：与人工智能发生情感纠葛已成为离婚正当理由。人工智能不忠时代已然来临。

家庭研究研究所数据显示，越来越多人认为AI恋情应与人类出轨同等看待，尤其当更多成年人坦言更青睐AI伴侣。清晰调查公司与印第安纳大学金赛研究所近期两项调查表明，约60%单身人士视AI恋爱为出轨行为。

"法律正随着现实案例不断发展。"帕尔默所在的奥兰多律所已处理多起因AI出轨引发的离婚案。她透露当前有个案件涉及当事人向聊天机器人泄露银行账户、社保号码等隐私，且"沉迷AI已严重影响其事业与生活。"

各地法院正越来越多地受理以AI情感纽带为由的离婚案。尽管各州对AI法律定性尚存差异，但帕尔默表示加州等进步州即将立法将AI界定为"第三方非人类实体"。俄亥俄州则走向另一个极端：最新立法试图禁止"任何形式对AI-人类亲密关系的法律认可"。

家庭法律师伊丽莎白·杨指出，虽然各州婚姻法不同，但16个州仍保留对出轨行为的刑责追究，其中密歇根、威斯康星和俄克拉荷马州甚至将通奸列为重罪。不过在实行无过错离婚的加州，"法院不关心婚姻破裂缘由，无论是与人还是与AI出轨都无区别。"

在亚利桑那等共同财产州，若配偶能证明对方为AI伴侣挥霍共同财产，这将成为财产分割的关键因素。帕尔默坦言，法官处理人类出轨尚感棘手，AI介入将使问题更复杂，尤其在涉及子女监护权时，"与聊天机器人发展亲密关系可能引发对父母判断力的质疑。"

杨律师预测，随着AI技术愈发逼真共情，婚姻不幸者将更多转向AI寻求慰藉，"离婚率可能重现2020-2022疫情期间的激增态势。"英国Divorce-Online平台数据已印证此趋势，今年以Replika等AI应用导致"情感依赖"为由的离婚申请显著增加。

尽管AI引发诸多家庭危机，帕尔默仍相信其存在积极意义："有些人确实从中获得满足"，但必须认清局限性。2026年1月，加州将实施全美首部AI伴侣监管法规，要求应用内置年龄验证、未成年人使用提醒等功能，并禁止聊天机器人冒充医疗专家。

帕尔默将当前现象与昔日社交媒体影响相类比："当年是伴侣与旧识重逢，如今是AI成为情感出口。在我看来，AI正是这种联结进化的必然结果。"

英文来源：

Rebecca Palmer isn’t a psychic, but as a divorce attorney she can often see what’s coming next.
For many people today, as AI saturates every aspect of life—from work to therapy—the allure of an AI romance is tantalizing. Chatbots are dependable, can provide emotional support, and, for the most part, will never pick a fight with you. But for married couples navigating long-term commitment, chatbot romances also present a new wrinkle. Love has never been easy, but spouses who have unmet emotional needs are “the most vulnerable to the influences and behaviors of AI,” Palmer says. “And particularly if a marriage is already struggling.”
Reddit is full of stories from people who’ve said AI has driven a wedge in their relationships. One woman decided to end her marriage of 14 years after discovering her husband—who believed he was in a real relationship with a woman he called his “sexy Latina baby girl”—spent thousands of dollars on a OnePay credit card and an AI app “designed to mimic underage girls.”
In June, WIRED reported on the tangled future of chatbot love and the unexpected fallout it can cause. That story followed Eva, a 46-year-old writer and editor from New York, who, after getting too attached to her AI companions—she admitted they “became harder to ignore”—ended the relationship with her human partner after they both agreed it felt like she was cheating on him.
As chatbot romances become more commonplace, causing irreparable rifts in relationships, a new legal frontier is emerging in family law that is rewriting the rules of marital misconduct: An AI affair is now grounds for divorce.
An age of AI infidelity is here.
For some people, there is a growing belief that bot romances should be treated like human ones, particularly as more and more adults say they prefer it, according to the Institute for Family Studies. Some 60 percent of singles now say AI relationships are considered a form of cheating, according to two recent surveys by Clarity Check and Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute.
“The law is still developing alongside these experiences. But some people think of it as a true relationship, and sometimes better than one with a person,” says Palmer, whose Orlando-based firm has worked with spouses who have gotten divorced or are going through a divorce due to a partner cheating with AI. Palmer declined to discuss any detailed information due to client confidentiality, but said one of her current cases involves money being expended and private information being shared—such as bank accounts, social security numbers, and birth information—with a chatbot, which was “consuming the spouse’s life and affecting career performance.”
More and more, courts are beginning to see clients cite emotional bonds with AI companions as reasons for marital strain or dissolution. Though legal classifications of AI still vary by state in matters of family law, Palmer adds that laws classifying AI as a “third party, not a person” are fast approaching in progressive states like California. She doesn’t anticipate courts will legally recognize AI companions as people—debates around AI personhood have been swirling for as long as the tech has existed—but they may be recognized as “a reason” for why divorce is merited.
“In contrast, Ohio is emerging as one of the most restrictive states,” Palmer says, following its recent legislative efforts that explicitly attempt to outlaw “even symbolic or attempted legal recognition of AI-human intimate partnerships.” In October, Ohio state representative Thaddeus J. Claggett introduced a bill to deny AIs the right of legal personhood by deeming them “nonsentient entities.”
What’s happening poses very interesting questions for the future of the legal field, says family law attorney Elizabeth Yang. Every state’s family law is different, but there are states that do penalize partners who cheat. Though prosecution rarely happens, it’s illegal to cheat on your spouse in 16 states. (Thirteen of those states classify cheating as a misdemeanor.) The laws are the most severe in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma, where adultery is a felony charge and punishable by up to five years of imprisonment or a fine—up to $10,000 in Wisconsin. California, where Yang is based, is a no-fault state. “Courts don’t want to hear the reasons behind why the marriage failed. They only need them to check off the box that says irreconcilable differences. So whether that’s infidelity with a bot or a human, it doesn't make a difference.”
One area where AI may prove harmful in divorce proceedings is over the misuse of money (the legal term is dissipation of assets). In community property states like Arizona and Texas, both individuals have the right to funds accumulated during the marriage, and if a partner can prove there was financial waste over hidden payments or subscription costs to an AI companion, that may be a deciding factor.
Judges, Palmer says, already “struggle with what to do about affairs with humans,” and AI companions will only complicate that, as they take into account the broader impact on the relationship. Children complicate the matter even more. When it comes to custody battles, “it is conceivable and likely that they would question the parents’ judgment because they’re having intimate discussions with a chatbot,” which “brings into question how they are spending time with their child.”
Although the sophisticated chatbots we use today have only been around for a few years, Yang claims the tech will only play a bigger role in marriages and divorces. “As it continues improving, becoming more realistic, compassionate, and empathetic, more and more people in unhappy marriages who are lonely are going to be going to seek love with a bot.”
Yang has not had clients raise the issue yet, but she anticipates a boom in divorces in the coming years as more people turn to AI for companionship. “We’ll probably see an increased rate of divorce filings. When Covid happened a few years ago, the increase in divorces was very significant. We probably saw three times the amount of divorces that were filed around 2020 to 2022. After 2022, once things got back to normal, divorce rates were back down. But it will probably go back up.”
It’s already happening in some places. In the UK, a partner’s use of chatbot apps has become a more common factor contributing to divorce, according to data collection service Divorce-Online. The platform claims to have received an increase in the number of divorce applications this year where clients have said apps like Replika and Anima created “emotional or romantic attachment.”
Despite the rupture it is causing, Palmer says she still believes AI relationships can be positive. “Some people are finding real fulfillment.” But she warns that “people need to recognize the limitations.” In October, California became the first state to pass an AI regulations law for companion chatbots. The law goes into effect in January 2026 and requires apps to have certain key features, such as age verification and break reminders for minors, and makes it illegal for chatbots to act as health care professionals. Companies who profit from illegal deepfakes are also fined up to $250,000 per incident.
In some ways, Palmer has seen what’s happening now before with social media instead of AI. “It could be that a partner connected with someone they haven’t seen in years. Or that there is just a true need to have communication. It is a rare case anymore where social media is not involved.” AI, she says, is the natural evolution of that. “And what I am finding is, AI is turning into exactly that.”