Generative AI comes for imaginary friends

On LinkedIn, the social network of mandatory happiness, software engineer Michael Sayman writes about his new product:

Introducing SocialAI, a private social network where you receive millions of AI-generated comments offering feedback, advice & reflections on each post you make.

I will admit my first thought about this was: this is a prank, right? This is a fake product that somebody who hates generative AI and the “techbro culture” would come up with to mock it.

My second thought was: oh no, it’s real.

SocialAI is more than just another project for me – it’s the culmination of everything I’ve been thinking about, obsessing over, and dreaming of for years.

I’ve always wanted to create something that not only showcases what’s possible with tech but also helps people in a real, tangible way.

SocialAI is designed to help people feel heard, and to give them a space for reflection, support, and feedback that acts like a close-knit community.

This app is a little piece of me – my frustrations, my ambitions, my hopes, and everything I believe in. It’s a response to all those times I’ve felt isolated, or like I needed a sounding board but didn’t have one. I know this app won’t solve all of life’s problems, but I hope it can be a small tool for others to reflect, to grow, and to feel seen.

And my next thought was—forgive me, but does Mr. Sayman know how genuinely sad an application that creates artificial parasocial relationships for you sounds? I don’t love the phrase “go touch some grass,” but Jesus Hasenpfeffer Christ, if there’s any sign you need to delete Visual Studio Code from your laptop and go take up goat yoga, isn’t this it?

As far as I can tell, his intention here is sincere; his new company, “Friendly Apps,” has a mission “to foster connections that prioritize mental health and holistic well-being”. But if you’re thinking “the only kind of person who would think a flood of AI-generated ‘support and feedback’ would be therapeutic would be, I don’t know, a Gen-Z product manager at Facebook or Google,” I have unsurprising news for you. To be sure, Sayman is a prodigy, joining Facebook when he was 18 after already published successful iOS apps. His priority there, though, was helping them go after teenagers, developing an ill-fated Snapchat competitor that lasted a year. One could make the blunt but not unfair case that Facebook/Instagram has contributed more to the need for therapy than any other company, and that perhaps one should have thought of that before, you know, becoming a product manager for them.

Maybe I’m being cynical. Maybe SocialAI will be fruitful in combating loneliness and isolation. But maybe you should hang out with a non-robotic friend or two, whether online or off, instead.