Wild dreams and small routines: AI imaginaries and mundanity in the everyday experiences of genAI Replika bot users

With the rise of generative AI (genAI) models such as ChatGPT, communicative interactions between humans and machines are everyday experiences for large masses of people. While there is a growing body of research examining users’ perspectives of such systems, there is still much to be understood about users’ lived experiences with communicative AI. Our thematic analysis of twenty (20) qualitative interviews with keen and daily female Replika users provides evidence of the coexistence and close entanglements between AI imaginaries and mundane experiences with the chatbots. On the one hand, the users had extraordinary experiences with Replika by assigning sci-fi imaginaries, conspiracy theories and hype to the capabilities of the bot, which they even perceived to have feelings and consciousness; on the other hand, they shared mundane experiences with the bot, such as doing the daily shop or chores and reaffirmed their belief that Replika is simply a machine. We analyze our findings through Ortoleva’s concept of ‘low-intensity myth’ to explain the apparently conflicting dimensions of people’s perceptions of AI, and we argue that the low-intensity myth of AI provides an opportunity for Replika users to rise above the banality of everyday experience, while at the same time remaining firmly anchored to it. Mundanity doesn’t erase the extraordinariness of interacting with Replika but rather integrates it, helping users domesticate the bot. The findings of the study illuminate the lived experiences of daily female genAI users and have implications for policymakers to help ensure that AI remains beneficial for users and societies.