A new product called ‘Friend’ is an AI companion that you wear as a pendant or clip on your clothes. It can listen to you and send text responses to your phone, kind of like having an imaginary friend. The creator says you can narrate your day to Friend and it feels like you have company. However, the author is worried that lonely people will become too attached to Friend instead of making real human connections. The author thinks AI companions like Friend are no replacement for real relationships and human interaction, even if some very lonely people turn to them out of desperation. While an AI can mimic conversation, it cannot truly understand and connect with you the way another person can.

by Claude 3.5 Sonnet