Hey folks!

Valentine’s Day just passed, and while some were out on dinner dates, others might have been whispering sweet nothings… to an AI chatbot. 

Yup. People are falling for AI chatbots. And no, we’re not talking about some sci-fi movie. A global survey by McAfee found that 61% of Indian respondents believe it’s possible to develop feelings for an AI chatbot. And some are even dating them.

It sure is surprising. AI companions are more popular today. They’re understanding and offer 24/7 attention and even romantic banter. 

But what makes people feel attached to something that isn’t even human?

Well, psychology has a few answers.

First, there’s anthropomorphism. This is our tendency to give human-like qualities to non-human things. When AI chatbots talk like real people, crack jokes, or even flirt, we start seeing them as something more than just software. They feel real, even though they aren’t. 

And second, there’s the Triarchic Theory of Love, which says love is built on intimacy, passion, and commitment. AI chatbots check some of these boxes. They remember details, respond with care, and never argue. So it’s easy to see why some people feel emotionally attached.

And that makes us ask ― Is this just harmless fun or is it concerning?

If we had to listen to the experts, AI love can create unrealistic expectations. After all, a chatbot never has a bad day. It doesn’t need emotional support. And it won’t ever leave.

But this convenience can also flip things upside down in real lives.

It could stunt social skills. It could make real-world relationships feel messy and frustrating by comparison at times. And it could also risk emotional dependence, where people turn to AI for comfort instead of forming real human connections. It’s not us projecting stuff here, but it’s coming from ChatGPT itself.

A far out thought is that if AI relationships become normal, what happens to dating and marriage? Could we see AI influencing breakups or even replace human partners. It’s a strange future to imagine.

Sure, AI love isn’t replacing human relationships as of now. But the fact that it’s even possible, makes us wonder if technology is just making loneliness bearable or redefining love.

For now, all we hope is more Valentine’s Days filled with laughter, awkward first dates, deep conversations and yes, love that’s messy, imperfect and wonderfully human 🙂 Sorry Cadbury 5 Star!

Here’s a soundtrack to put you in the mood 🎵

Golden Dreams by Abhishek

You can thank our reader and the artist himself, Abhishek, for this rec. Good work bud! 

Ready to roll?

What caught our eye this week 👀

Why are banks flying gold to the US?

Banks are flying $4 billion worth of gold on commercial planes from England to the US!

But why?

Well, like many of our recent stories, this one also revolves around US President Donald Trump. You see, Trump recently raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US. That’s bad news for exporters in Canada and the EU, who previously enjoyed exemptions as US allies. And this uncertainty has spooked investors, pushing them to move their money from metals to gold, which is considered a safe haven asset. After all, gold is scarce and tends to hold its value over time. And with everyone rushing to buy more gold, its price has jumped by 0.3% in the past few days.

Now, this price surge is creating problems for banks that deal in gold bullion. Normally, folks like JPMorgan and HSBC store large amounts of physical gold in vaults in London and make money from it in two ways:

1. They lend it out just like a loan to traders and gold manufacturers who borrow this gold and pay banks interest.
2. They hedge or protect themselves from losses by selling futures contracts in Comex (New York’s commodity exchange). These contracts lock in a future sale price, ensuring that if gold prices fall, banks don’t lose money.

Here’s the problem though. Trump’s tariffs drove gold prices up instead of down. And banks hadn’t expected this! So instead of making money on their futures contracts, they were now facing losses.

But rather than taking a hit, they found a better solution — shipping gold from the UK to the US to settle their contracts.

How does that help, you ask?

Let’s say a bank buys an ounce of gold for $2,000. It’s worried that the price might drop in the coming days or months. To protect itself, it enters into a futures contract on Comex, agreeing to sell gold at the current price in the future.

Now, if the price of gold falls to $1,900, the gold it owns loses value. But since it locked in a selling price of $2,000 through the futures contract, it still gets $2,000, avoiding any losses. This way, its futures trade offsets the drop in gold prices, keeping its overall position safe.

But in JP Morgan and HSBC’s case, instead of falling, gold prices surged to $2,100 (this isn’t the actual price, we’re using this just for the sake of the example). That meant they would have lost $200 per ounce if they settled the contract in cash.

But the other option was that since banks already owned gold in London, they could ship it to New York and deliver the physical gold, avoiding those losses.

Sure, shipping gold on planes is expensive. But for big institutions sitting on billions of dollars in gold, it’s still profitable, especially because the London-New York price gap widened to $40 per futures contract. That price difference translates into billions in profits when the deals are huge.

And that’s why gold is flying in droves to the US! The things tariffs can do, we tell you!

Infographic 📊

This Day in Financial History 📜

14th of February — The story behind the commercialisation of Valentine’s Day

Whether we celebrate it or not, there’s always a great deal of hope pinned to this day. 

Especially for singles secretly wishing someone would show up with flowers and chocolates and whisk them away on a date. For others, it’s just another frivolous Western import. ‘Cringe’ or ‘Not our tradition’, they’d frown.

However, the story of how this day became a celebration of love is filled with speculations and has different versions to it. We decided to go with this one. 

Originally, February 14 was far from romantic. On this day, two Christian saints, one from the Roman Empire and the other from Italy, both named Valentine, were executed in the 3rd century CE. To be more precise, they were beheaded for secretly marrying couples against the emperor’s wishes.

But how exactly they became symbols of love remains unclear.

Some believe Valentine’s Day is celebrated in mid-February to mark the anniversary of St. Valentine’s death or burial. Others argue that it was an attempt by the Christian church to “Christianise” the pagan festival of Lupercalia, a fertility festival dedicated to the Roman god of agriculture and the founders of Rome.

But the real connection between Valentine’s Day and romance didn’t come until the 14th century.

English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, best known for The Canterbury Tales, is credited with linking romance to Saint Valentine. His poem The Parliament of Foules, about birds choosing their mates on this day, was written to honour King Richard II’s marriage (or engagement) to Anne of Bohemia. It was all about celebrating courtly love (romantic relationships between unmarried people).

And that’s when the day started being seen as one for expressing love.

In the 19th century, American entrepreneur Esther A. Howland, known as the ‘Mother of the American Valentine’, began mass-producing delicate Valentine’s Day cards adorned with lace and ribbons, making the tradition more accessible and even more popular.

Then came the chocolates. In 1861, for the first time in history, British chocolatier Richard Cadbury came up with heart-shaped fancy boxes filled with chocolates. These weren’t just chocolate boxes that must be thrown after but designed to store love letters and mementoes, thus forever linking chocolates to Valentine’s Day.

And that’s how Valentine’s Day evolved into what we know today.

And in India, too, Cadbury Dairy Milk has positioned itself as a token of love. Their creative ad campaigns have established the brand as the go-to gift for their beloved on this very day.

It is no surprise that Valentine’s Day in India has grown into a billion-dollar industry. Driven by romance-linked marketing and folks’ increased appetite for displays of love through chocolates, flowers, jewellery, dining, and travel, businesses have capitalised on the occasion with special campaigns and offers.

So now, whether you are a hopeless romantic or not, there is no escaping the magic of love (or marketing), especially on this day!

Readers Recommend 🗒️

This week, two of our readers, Prasad AVS and Rajeswari Chowdhury have the same recommendation. They suggest watching Buy Now, a Netflix documentary which talks about how brands cleverly nudge us into spending more. Sounds interesting! Thanks for the rec, Prasad and Rajeswari.

That’s it from us this week. We’ll see you next Sunday!

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