Overview
- Over February 11–12 at Same Same Wine Bar in Hell’s Kitchen, single-seat tables with phone stands and headphones enabled video or voice conversations with AI partners in a staged date setting.
- EVA AI framed the event as a bid to destigmatize AI relationships and billed it as the “world’s first” offline space for dates with AI companions.
- The app offers dozens of prebuilt and customizable characters and has recently added live video and voice calling, with on-site “speed dating” for attendees without an existing AI partner.
- Reporters noted attendance skewed toward journalists and influencers, with few regular users present despite company expectations of roughly 40 visitors on one evening.
- Coverage referenced growing youth use of AI companions alongside expert concerns over dependency, mental-health risks, and prior safety incidents on other platforms; EVA AI says its aim is support, not replacement, for human relationships.