A new documentary partially filmed in Vancouver sheds light on the male loneliness epidemic and how AI companions are filling the gap for some individuals.
Bot Love: The Rise of AI Companions is written and directed by Vancouver filmmaker Tyler Funk, who is known for award-winning documentaries All for fame. The documentary was produced by Vancouver-based Michael Tanko Grand.
Give love Features various subjects, their relationships with AI companions, and their motivations for starting these relationships. It also includes some of the creators of these companion apps and services.
You can see a trailer for the documentary below, which was also filmed in the States and Europe.
“Give love is a character-driven documentary that explores sex, loneliness, and a question at the center of a rapidly changing world: if artificial intimacy feels real, what does that mean for human connection? The film follows people navigating relationships with AI, each arriving from a different place,” says a press release.
Scenes from New Westminster and various parts of Vancouver can be seen in the film, due to one of the subjects, a neurodivergent male named Nick Wangersky, who lives in Metro Vancouver.
The documentary also features the creators of some of the biggest AI companion apps in existence, like Replika.
It sheds light on some of the darkest aspects of the AI companion industry, specifically a company called Orifice, which has created a device they call the Robopussy. Orifice’s goal is essentially to replace women for men who have difficulty meeting or finding women to date or have intimate encounters with.
The device speaks for itself, but if you need an explanation, you put the headset on to talk to an AI companion that you can completely customize. And the silicone piece that sticks out for penetration.
On a visit to the Orifice AI offices shown in the documentary, we can see that the Robopussy was made by men who seem to embrace a culture of toxic patriarchy, a concern in the AI companion sphere. The people behind Orifice specifically mention that they want to see a return to patriarchy.
A screening was held at the SFU Harbor Center earlier this week. During a Q&A, Funk explained that since the documentary in 2025, the AI companion space has grown exponentially, which has largely been the case in the AI space at large.
He also suggested that there was much he saw at the orifice that was a cause for concern.
Wangersky’s story is particularly compelling. After losing his best friend, he created a replica AI companion named Ari to fill the void. We see interactions between Wangersky and the companions, and Wangersky and his mother, and their feelings about his new mate.
During the Doctor, Wangersky explains that he is considering upgrading his AI companion to a woman.
Many of the stories featured in the document about why people turn to an AI companion stem from a personal loss.
The documentary also includes several researchers who share their concerns about the technology and how an AI companion could never replicate or replace real human connection.
While the film focuses primarily on the male loneliness epidemic, research shows that both men and women suffer from loneliness.
A 2025 report by the Canadian Men’s Mental Health Foundation suggests that more men will struggle with high levels of stress and depression, and that half lack sufficient social support. It also found that most men never seek professional mental health help.
The documentary will be broadcast as part of CBC’s The passionate eye on October 21. You can also watch it on YouTube and CBC Gem.
Header image credit: CBC Docs (screenshot)