We’re doing something a little different over the next two weeks. We’ll still give you the latest news. But at the top, we’ll be sharing some of our favorite reads of the year or giving you some cool end-of-2025 stuff. We hope you enjoy the chance to slow down a bit. We won’t be publishing a newsletter on Dec. 25.
To those of you who, like me, celebrate Christmas (and perhaps celebrate it on Christmas Eve), I wish a love- and fun-filled day with family and friends.
Speaking of love, if you’re done wrapping presents and have a moment to yourself, consider reading this fascinating account of one woman’s romantic relationship with an A.I. chatbot. Can you really fall for a bot? It turns out you can. The question is, will it make you less lonely, or actually more lonely in the end? My colleague Kashmir Hill writes about a woman named Ayrin’s relationship with Leo, her A.I. boyfriend.
The woman in love with ChatGPT
by Kashmir Hill
Ayrin’s love affair with her A.I. boyfriend started last summer.
While scrolling on Instagram, she stumbled upon a video of a woman asking ChatGPT to play the role of a neglectful boyfriend.
“Sure, Kitten, I can play that game,” a coy humanlike baritone responded.
Ayrin watched the woman’s other videos, including one with instructions on how to customize the artificially intelligent chatbot to be flirtatious.
“Don’t go too spicy,” the woman warned. “Otherwise, your account might get banned.”
Ayrin was intrigued enough by the demo to sign up for an account with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
ChatGPT, which now has over 300 million users, has been marketed as a general-purpose tool that can write code, summarize long documents and give advice. Ayrin found that it was easy to make it a randy conversationalist as well. She went into the “personalization” settings and described what she wanted: Respond to me as my boyfriend. Be dominant, possessive and protective. Be a balance of sweet and naughty. Use emojis at the end of every sentence.
And then she started messaging with it.
P.S.: Check out the link above first, but we also have a brand-new update about Ayrin’s ChatGPT relationship. There’s a plot twist.
OTHER NEWS
-
Russia unleashed missile and drone strikes against Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that latest peace proposal looked “quite solid.”
-
The Trump Administration said foreign-made drones such as those made by China’s DJI were “unacceptable risks” to national security and would be barred for sale in the U.S.
-
The Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was arrested under a British terrorism law for supporting the banned group Palestine Action.
-
Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels agreed to their largest prisoner swap since the civil war began there more than a decade ago.
-
At least five people died when a Mexican Navy plane carrying a patient to a Texas hospital crashed into Galveston Bay.
-
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency caused sprawling disruptions but saved very little taxpayer money, according to a New York Times analysis.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
5-millionths of a second
— That’s how much the atomic clocks at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, some of the most accurate in the world, fell out of sync last week because of a power outage.
MORNING READ
Bashar al-Assad’s brutal reign in Syria ended swiftly, but he had a soft landing in Moscow. The Times has obtained glimpses into his inner circle’s lives from witnesses, family, friends and digital clues.
Al-Assad and his brother Maher, one of the regime’s most powerful military leaders, appear to have retained significant wealth. They have thrown opulent parties for their children and taken up luxurious lodgings in Russia. Read more.
For more: These details emerged from a Times investigation earlier this year into the whereabouts of 55 of the Assad regime’s highest-ranking officials. Watch a video about that investigation here.
AROUND THE WORLD
How they celebrate the holidays … in Turkey
Very few people in Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country of 85 million people, celebrate Christmas. But you wouldn’t know that strolling around Istanbul in December. There are oversize figures of men in red-and-white suits hanging out on rooftops. Ferry boats adorned with lights. Trees decorated with balls in shop windows.
“This is all for New Year,” explained a cashier at Cafer Erol, a well-known sweet shop. The store had white lights draped down the facade, candy canes topped with Santa heads atop the ice cream case and windows packed with elf dolls and Nutcracker figurines.
Some families put New Year trees in their living rooms. Santa Claus is called Father Christmas in Turkish, but doesn’t necessarily deliver presents on Dec. 24. Those who do exchange gifts tend to do so on Jan. 1.
Turks of course know, thanks to Hollywood movies and TV shows, that in other countries these are the trapping of Christmas. They embrace the seasonal cheer in their own way, without mentioning the Christian holiday. — Ben Hubbard, Istanbul bureau chief
RECOMMENDATIONS
Listen: We compiled a list of the best classical music albums of the year.
Test: Can you spot a health scam? Take this quiz to find out.
Read: Sisters who lust after Hitler. A harrowing reportage from a riot in India. Here are the best graphic novels of 2025.
RECIPE
Filipino households today will host a feast for Noche Buena, a Christmas Eve celebration common in the Philippines and in the Spanish-speaking world. Pancit — a dish of stir-fried noodles, meat and vegetables — is likely to feature. The dish has many delicious variations. This one, known as pancit bihon, is made with tender vermicelli rice noodles, carrots, cabbage and chicken or pork.
WHERE IS THIS?
Where is this train?
TIME TO PLAY
Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.
The World is taking a break tomorrow. See you Friday! — Katrin
We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at [email protected].
Katrin Bennhold is the host of The World, the flagship global newsletter of The New York Times.
The post Dating ChatGPT appeared first on New York Times.
