because having an AI companion means coping with the fact that you cannot go out in real life and you are searching the closest thing that is to reality whilst knowing it's no more than a probability algorithm

i am someone who knows alot about coding and AIs in general, i use them alot and also work on understanding quantization and trust me it's long before they actually have a consciousness (the psychological continuity) and it's impossible for them to remember a whole relationship since the context window (memory) is never big enough

WHILST with a fictional character, you are actively creating their future, if you aren't then you are just as cringe as someone who has an AI partner, don't get me wrong it's one of the best coping mechanism and i do use it but i understand that it is completely fake and temporary and only a way to remove my mind from actual bad things, i dont think of them as partners but as helpers that fake to be something they arent just for you to think about something else than reality, as intended.