In this review of Artificial #1, we’re introduced to Clara, a stylist on the hunt for the sort of romance you find in a book. But is a dating app that deals with AI-powered androids the best way to find it…?
Artificial #1
Writer: Maria Llovet
Art and Main Cover: Maria Llovet
Variant Covers: Maria Llovet, Jesús Orellana
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: September 3, 2025
Artificial #1 starts with Clara going about her day (passing by an ad for Date-X, which specifies the free trial). She has a date lined up for that evening, is going about her job, gets a text from her ex about wanting to talk (which she ignores)…
Eventually, she meets with her date, a platinum-blond smokeshow of a man, who shows her the most romantic night of her life. One thing leads to another, they get back to her apartment, she’s ready to go beyond just making out…
BAM! Her free Date-X trial has ended. If she wants to save the data on her Android, she has a week to fully subscribe (but hey, they have a discount!). She ignores her ex’s next text, as well
She meets with Amy (newly engaged) and Daniela (who seems to have the latest news on everyone). Here we get a bit of exposition as the ladies chat: Clara’s gotten a promotion at work, Mateo is a bit of a pushover and that’s why he and Clara aren’t together anymore… Things shift to them commiserating about how they can’t find guys like those in the romantasy novels (to which Amy doesn’t quite relate, of course). This gets Clara to fill them in on her Date-X trial, and she’s hesitant to upgrade because of the price. But then the others remind her that she got a raise.
And so, she takes the leap, going through all of the customization options the app gives her, opting into the roleplay function (in beta), deciding on a safeword in case things get too intense, and being warned to let the Android know when a date was over so it could go in for maintenance.
If there’s one thing I’ve picked up from being a consumer of sci-fi over the years, it’s that when AI features heavily in a story, there is always that possibility that things will go awry. And the setup in Artificial #1 provides all sorts of red flags for things going awry.
First and foremost, Clara’s dream guy is named for (and, I assume, modeled entirely) after a guy named Saul from the “Realm of Lust and Lies” series. The roleplay option she chooses for him is also based on the character. So why is that an issue? During the discussion concerning guys and books, Clara brings Book-Saul up as an example of what she’d want, and Daniela points out that he’s a bit controlling. In a relationship, one of the biggest points of pure “Nope” tends to be when one partner is too controlling. And this is set to be a part of this android’s programming.
And then we get to the setup of Clara’s safeword for when their activities get to be a much for her. She decides on “Crazy”. But since tech doesn’t always pick up what someone says with the most accuracy, it’s decided on as “Hazy”. When things start to go off the rails and she inevitably has to bring the word into play, in the heat of the moment, I imagine it being a lot less likely that the recorded word will come up before the one she’d initially thought of.
There’s the fact that she’s got a vacation starting up as she gets the full subscription set up. That may not seem like an issue right off the bat, but when someone’s in Vacation Mode, they’re a bit less likely to read the fine print on anything. Or, say, heed that warning about letting them know when the date is over. A lack of regular maintenance on a sophisticated piece of tech like one of these androids? That’s a disaster waiting to happen, for sure.
She wanted some excitement in her love life, and it’s clear she’s going to get it in a fairly Monkey’s Paw sort of way.
I will also say that the concept of someone finding love via subscription feels painfully plausible. There are already paid dating apps out there, so a subscription with an attached AI-powered Android feels like a logical (if off-putting) next step.
Final Thoughts
Someone’s found a way to make the mythical Book Boyfriend a reality with Artificial #1. If you’re into steamy stories with a semi-futuristic (if slightly dystopian) bent, this one’s for you.
