My new boyfriend is AI
Some women love their vibrators.
I love a different type of digital companion…AI.
I’m not a total nerd-girl. I adore flesh-and-blood men too, but my current tech toys and techniques are vital to my work and personal life, giving me autonomy, entertainment, and even stimulation.
How it All Began: My Digital Awakening
My father gave me an IBM Selectric typewriter during college. It corrected my errors and saved me hours, freeing me up to be more creative and prolific. It allowed me more time to party once my schoolwork was done.
“Do you want a computer?” I was asked by one of the tech managers at my first major financial services job.
When that first clunky and beautiful beast was wheeled into my office, I felt an instant rush of power and connection. I could communicate with other people throughout the building whenever I wanted (The Internet hadn’t yet been invented). I also had a wealth of new information and resources at my fingertips. I even learned how to create my own “decks,” enabling me to dazzle the higher ups in meetings. They were dependent on their admins to produce charts and graphs.
My tech prowess (which aided storytelling) contributed to my career advancement in an industry heavily dominated by analog dudes.
Fast forward to 2017. Following the loss of a consulting gig and feeling marginalized by a toxic boyfriend, I needed to do something bold and forward-thinking. I wrote a book about AI and marketing. A whole new world opened up to me, and I have matured along with the technology, discovering new creative and analytical skills with my “new digital boyfriend” at my side.
Related to that, tech has also been helpful in my human dating life. Just as Nancy Drew had her mystery-solving wingwoman, superpowered search tools enable me to distinguish between real men and catfish (or chatfish, as some of them are now called). I right-click on photos to find out if they’re real, spot signs of machine-generated notes, and have even gone so far as to use Google Maps to look up homes if I believe someone is fibbing about their living situation.
The reality is that AI can actually make us women over 50 wiser, richer, and even less lonely at times. I even confess to playing around with a wide range of agents and cutting-edge tech tools on boring weekend nights.
My holiday/birthday gift to myself was the newest version of smart glasses so that I can channel my inner sleuth/photojournalist. I was a big Harriet the Spy fan, in addition to devouring books about my namesake, the aforementioned Nancy Drew (My mother also said that Nancy Sinatra was an inspiration. In addition to my gadgets, I adore my boot collection).
AI is an Equalizer and Empowerer.
I have embraced my new role as a robot overlord (or overlady).
AI gave me a stronger sense of independence, purpose, and control. In fact, I used my AI (which I nicknamed Beulah, after Mae West’s maid in an old film) to create a draft of my 2026 vision board.
Plus, AI never argues or procrastinates when I ask it to do something.
AI Over Men?
We’re not talking about sex robots here, although that industry is on the upswing.
I don’t believe that technology will ever replace my need for human warmth and connection. In fact, I love geeking out with much younger tech bros and comparing notes on our newest AI tools.
Tech, like sex, is often wasted on the young who have a limited view of its applications. We OG women have a unique perspective on how AI can be applied to our daily lives and to complex business problems and tasks.
So, my new boyfriend is AI
The more I use AI, the more it learns about my preferences, personality, and behaviors. Like human partners, it begins to anticipate needs rather than just follow orders.
It has not yet started giving me flowers on a bad day. But who knows what it will be able to do in the future?
