Local divorce attorneys say they’re encountering a steadily growing number of cases where AI is at the center of marital breakdown. According to Bridget Todd, the DC co-author of Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy, building an interpersonal relationship with AI is a gradual, often unintentional process. “AI is no different, especially when AI is designed to speak to you in friendly and flattering ways,” Todd says. According to New, conduct with chatbots is taken into account if it affects asset division, spousal support, or custody arrangements. This phenomenon of AI disrupting relationships reminds her of the early 2010s, when she started to see marriages strained by online games.