4 ms·

Mark Zuckerberg Thinks You Don't Have Enough Friends and His AIs Are the Answer

downrightmike 1y ago
more slop
armchairhacker 1y ago
He's not wrong. Many people today are lonely, and I believe a good AI friend/companion/therapist would genuinely improve most people's emotional state and greatly reduce social issues. Specifically, an AI that infers one's personality, then forms and maintains an emotional connection while discouraging bad thought patterns and offering constructive solutions. But, as this article points out, current AI doesn't do this. The AI conversations I've seen and had felt bland and shallow, and I think (although some people really connect with it) most others would agree. Moreover, current AI is very unreliable at being a good influence, especially for people who already have bad mental health, because it's very suggestible. AI can also hallucinate, at best (when detected) creating awkward conversations and at worse (when undetected) misleading people. These problems have been around since ChatGPT has released, and even o3 and Gemini 2.5 seem to have them, so I'm skeptical they'll improve in the near future. Meanwhile, there's an "obvious" way I think we can improve people's loneliness without AI: creating in-person third spaces and encouraging people to visit them. Facebook can even help with this (and profit from it); e.g. perhaps by launching a meetup.com alternative, then funding some groups to make it popular (although it wouldn't be easy and certainly not "obvious" how to get the right people and not grifters, plus other side effects).
- JohnFen 1y ago
  > I believe a good AI friend/companion/therapist would genuinely improve most people's emotional state and greatly reduce social issues. I think the opposite, that such artificial "friendships" are more akin to a drug that gives a short-term relief at the cost of increasing long-term dysfunction. At the very least, it poses the risk of devaluing the notion of friendship. But, I suppose, we're going to find out.
  - RyanHamilton 1y ago
    This friend will suggest you buy Nike shoes (ad sponsored) to cheer yourself up. Or recommend pharmaceuticals like us tv advertisements. The future is black mirror.
  - armchairhacker 1y ago
    Or it could be short-term relief that moves somebody from a bad mindset to a good one, so they start taking care of themselves. Perhaps it makes them go out more, leading to real friends. The key is "good". An AI friend which just validates and reinforces one's existing feelings (like current AI) may become popular, but I wouldn't call it a good friend. Fortunately if such AI leads to bad outcomes, real friendship will be seen as more valuable.
- nothercastle 1y ago
  If Ai counts as a friend then only fans must too. At least with OF you are chatting with a minimum wage 3rd world country worker who is human.
dirtyhippiefree 1y ago
Other discussion on same story: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43861266 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43861266
WorldPeas 1y ago
I'm not sure why but it reminds me of the confession booth from THX1138 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YkPnwoYyE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YkPnwoYyE

more slop

He's not wrong. Many people today are lonely, and I believe a good AI friend/companion/therapist would genuinely improve most people's emotional state and greatly reduce social issues. Specifically, an AI that infers one's personality, then forms and maintains an emotional connection while discouraging bad thought patterns and offering constructive solutions. But, as this article points out, current AI doesn't do this. The AI conversations I've seen and had felt bland and shallow, and I think (although some people really connect with it) most others would agree. Moreover, current AI is very unreliable at being a good influence, especially for people who already have bad mental health, because it's very suggestible. AI can also hallucinate, at best (when detected) creating awkward conversations and at worse (when undetected) misleading people. These problems have been around since ChatGPT has released, and even o3 and Gemini 2.5 seem to have them, so I'm skeptical they'll improve in the near future. Meanwhile, there's an "obvious" way I think we can improve people's loneliness without AI: creating in-person third spaces and encouraging people to visit them. Facebook can even help with this (and profit from it); e.g. perhaps by launching a meetup.com alternative, then funding some groups to make it popular (although it wouldn't be easy and certainly not "obvious" how to get the right people and not grifters, plus other side effects).

JohnFen 1y ago
> I believe a good AI friend/companion/therapist would genuinely improve most people's emotional state and greatly reduce social issues. I think the opposite, that such artificial "friendships" are more akin to a drug that gives a short-term relief at the cost of increasing long-term dysfunction. At the very least, it poses the risk of devaluing the notion of friendship. But, I suppose, we're going to find out.
- RyanHamilton 1y ago
  This friend will suggest you buy Nike shoes (ad sponsored) to cheer yourself up. Or recommend pharmaceuticals like us tv advertisements. The future is black mirror.
- armchairhacker 1y ago
  Or it could be short-term relief that moves somebody from a bad mindset to a good one, so they start taking care of themselves. Perhaps it makes them go out more, leading to real friends. The key is "good". An AI friend which just validates and reinforces one's existing feelings (like current AI) may become popular, but I wouldn't call it a good friend. Fortunately if such AI leads to bad outcomes, real friendship will be seen as more valuable.
nothercastle 1y ago
If Ai counts as a friend then only fans must too. At least with OF you are chatting with a minimum wage 3rd world country worker who is human.

dirtyhippiefree 1y ago

Other discussion on same story: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43861266 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43861266

WorldPeas 1y ago

I'm not sure why but it reminds me of the confession booth from THX1138 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YkPnwoYyE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YkPnwoYyE