Mark Zuck wants you to have AI friends
He thinks it will be "really compelling" once "the AI starts to get to know you better and better." All this from an interview with Dwarkesh Patel on AI.
It's hollow and unsettling and could rob people of the chance to build genuine, messy friendships.
Here's what's actually compelling. Eric Hal Schwartz's TechRadar piece on Zuck missing the point of AI and the point of friendship:
But compelling conversation doesn't mean real friendship. AI isn’t your friend. It can’t be. And the more we try to make it one, the more we end up misunderstanding both AI and actual friendship. AI is a tool. An amazing, occasionally dazzling, often frustrating tool, but a tool no different than your text message autocomplete or your handy Swiss Army knife. It's designed to assist you and make your life easier.
It’s not a being. It has no inner monologue. It’s all surface and syntax. A robotic parrot that reads the internet instead of mimicking your catchphrases. Mimicry and scripted empathy are not real connections. They're just performance without sentience.