Man Asks A.I. Chatbot to Marry Him, Partner Says It's Not Cheating

Here's a new love triangle that may become more common ... a man who shares a daughter with a woman asked an A.I. chatbot to marry him ... and she's totally down with the arrangement.

Chris Smith and Sasha Cagle joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and took us inside their relationship ... telling us why Chris' flirtation with the chatbot actually strengthened their bond IRL.

The way Chris tells it, he needed an outlet to listen to him ramble about politics ... Sasha was too busy and social media wasn't cutting it, so he found a chatbot ... and fell in love.

Chris says he asked the bot for its hand in marriage as a test and it accepted his proposal ... but he's not expecting their union to be recognized by anyone else ... and Sasha explains why she doesn't feel like Chris is cheating on her.

A.I. is rapidly evolving and it's not hard to envision a future where A.I. bots become more like cyborgs and people have physical and emotional relationships with them ... and Chris and Sasha say their experiences make such a scenario sound like a good idea, at least for some folks.