aiArtificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence isn’t just coming for your job — it’s also coming for your social life.

Avi Schiffmann, a 21-year-old tech entrepreneur, has released a product called “Friend”, a wearable AI device that records one’s environment and sends texts in response to whatever is going on. An ad shows Friend encouraging a solo hiker, teasing a man who’s losing a video game, and asking a young woman if she’s enjoying her dinner. The users wear the device around their neck, and it lights up when in use, discretion be damned.

The message, of course, is that being friends with an AI chatbot is not at all sad, embarrassing, or an obvious cry for help. Will it have the same personality flaws as other AI?