Attachment is the term psychologists use for the most significant relationships that hold people’s lives together.

But what makes an attachment relationship different from all others? According to the pioneering American-Canadian developmental psychologist Mary Ainsworth, it must meet the following six conditions.

(1) The relationship must persist over time, having (2) been formed with a particular subject who cannot be replaced. (3) The relationship must be emotionally significant, (4) involve the desire to remain close to them, and (5) cause distress at involuntary separation. And finally (6) when threatened, the person must seek security and comfort in their relationship with that subject.

The first five conditions describe any lasting affectionate bond, such as a close friendship. Only the sixth turns it into an attachment bond specifically. Simply liking someone, feeling close to them or spending hours together isn’t enough to create an attachment relationship.

Interestingly, though, nothing in these six conditions specifies a human on the other side.

This was already noticed long before the emergence of AI chatbots with the power to converse. Deities, pets and objects (ranging from children’s blankets and stuffed animals to cherished household items and even phones and computers) have all been found to supply security and comfort when someone is feeling distressed.

Today, AI companion apps are commonly sold on the promise of lasting and close relationships.........

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