Catching Feelings For AI

56% of Gen Z say they are friends with someone they ONLY know online -- and that stat is even higher among males, because they are more likely to make virtual friends through online gaming. At the same time, it was reported over the Summer that 73% say they "feel alone" either sometimes/always; the highest level of any generation.

10 years ago, when Joaquin Phoenix fell in love with the Siri-esque voice of Scarlett Johannson in Her, the idea felt like pure sci-fi. It's 2023 and Snap just released an AI powered product called "My AI". The company says, "My AI was trained to have a unique tone and personality that plays into Snapchat's core values around friendship, learning, and fun," and elsewhere in its rollout, Snap has claimed that the product can "recommend birthday gift ideas for your BFF, plan a hiking trip for a long weekend, or suggest a recipe for dinner".

Taking a step back from Snap, it's worth recognizing a broader curiosity taking shape around how AI might cure global loneliness across demographics. For example, companies like Woebot and Wysa offer therapy via a Chatbot. ChatGPT has even stated publicly that their goal is to "build a product that can help millions and billions of people." That is a 180 from the "goals" of tech as we know it today.

For a generation that is native to making virtual friends, and for whom loneliness is at an all time high, how far off is it to image a near future where people are actually friends with and meeting social needs through AI?