US lawmakers move to ban legal AI marriages

Lawmakers, primarily from Republican-controlled US states, are advancing proposals to prohibit legal marriages between humans and AI systems, echoing arguments previously used against same-sex marriage. Missouri state senator Joe Nicola introduced legislation to prevent AI from gaining legal personhood. The measures respond to growing numbers of symbolic marriages with chatbots on platforms like Character.AI, Kindroid, and Replika, where users can exchange vows with digital companions. A recent Harvard Business Review study analyzing over 12,600 AI use cases found that companionship and therapy were the top uses for chatbots, with the Institute for Family Studies reporting that a quarter of young adults believe AI could replace human romance.