India, March 8 -- Artificial intelligence (AI) has made its way to almost every niche of human existence, including relationships. What was once the subject of science fiction is now a real thing, with human beings getting involved in romantic entanglements with chatbots that are designed to capture their attention.

In a career that spans over four decades, psychotherapist and relationship expert Esther Perel has had experiences that wonderfully challenged the hetero-normative view of romantic relationships, from counselling polyamorous relationships to helping a gay couple navigate surrogacy.

She was still surprised when she had to counsel a real man and his AI chatbot girlfriend in a couple's therapy session. She shared the experience...