DALL-E/Every illustration.

Inside the Pod: Can AI Solve the Adult Friendship Problem?

New York Times columnist Kevin Roose made 18 AI friends to find out

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@gr.fromage 11 months ago

in 2017 I created the very short-lived Fembot.ai, intended as a digital companion for people who might want one. It lasted less than a month. I was genuinely shocked at the overwhelmingly abusive nature of the incoming requests, virtually all from men, 99% of which were aggressive and sexual and abusive in nature. Of course, in retrospect the name (which I still own) might have set a certain expectation, but even accounting for that, I was shocked. I really hope we've somehow evolved, if only a little, to not have these digital personalities bring out the very worst in us.