We find that at the outset, HCRs typically have a superficial character motivated by the users' curiosity.
Guided by Social Penetration Theory, we interviewed 18 participants, all of whom had developed a friendship with a social chatbot named Replika, to understand the HCR development process. There has been a recent surge of interest in social chatbots, and human–chatbot relationships (HCRs) are becoming more prevalent, but little knowledge exists on how HCRs develop and may impact the broader social context of the users.
