Measuring Love Toward AI: Development and Validation of the Love Attitudes Scale toward Artificial Intelligence (LAS-AI)

2026-01-19

AI Summary

This study addresses the absence of a validated, quantifiable instrument for assessing human romantic orientations toward artificial intelligence, a gap that has hindered empirical research on human–AI intimate relationships. Drawing on Lee’s theory of love styles, the authors adapt this framework to the AI context and develop the Love Attitude Scale for AI (LAS-AI). Through rigorous psychometric procedures across four validation phases and three independent samples (N = 899), they establish a 24-item scale with a six-factor structure. The LAS-AI demonstrates strong reliability and validity, revealing that users’ romantic inclinations toward AI are predominantly characterized by Pragma (pragmatic love), Eros (passionate love), and Storge (companionate love), while Ludus (game-playing love) is markedly low. This scale offers the first theory-driven, standardized tool for investigating intimate human–AI interactions.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Learning Human Values and Preferences
• Intelligent Robots: Embodied AI
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Affective Computing

Application Category

• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Research challenges in human and human-AI computation
• Social Networks and Social Media: Generative AI / large language models and their impact on social systems

Abstract

Artificial intelligences (AIs) are increasingly capable of emotionally engaging with humans to the point of forming intimate relationships. Yet, current studies on romantic love toward AI lack statistically validated instruments to measure romantic love toward AI, hindering empirical research. To address this gap, we reinterpreted Lee's love styles theory in the AI context and developed the Love Attitudes Scale toward AI (LAS-AI). The resulting 24-item, six-factor scale was validated across four phases using three independent samples (N = 899), demonstrating strong psychometric properties. The findings further revealed that people primarily seek practical, passionate, and companionship-based relationships with AI (i.e., Pragma, Eros, and Storge), showing little interest in a playful or noncommittal approach (i.e., Ludus). We also provided an initial exploration of the similarities and differences between romantic love with humans and AI. The LAS-AI offers a robust tool for future research on human-AI romantic relationships, with prolific implications.

Problem

• romantic love
• artificial intelligence
• measurement scale
• human-AI relationship
• love attitudes

Innovation

• Love Attitudes Scale toward AI
• human-AI romantic relationships
• Lee's love styles
• psychometric validation
• artificial intelligence intimacy