According to the World Health Organization, we are currently living in the times of loneliness epidemic. “A global public health concern” that is as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, affecting one in four adults around the world. Struggles with social isolation only worsened following the pandemic. Making friends seems to be harder now than a few years ago, leaving many people feeling alone.
That is about to change with the release of the AI necklace ‘Friend‘. Created by 21-year-old web developer Avi Schiffman—who became an internet sensation in 2020 when he launched a website tracking the number of COVID cases around the world at the age of 17—his latest creation is ready for pre-order for just $99.
Although the shipping will start no sooner than January 2025, the PR campaign is in full swing. From Tiktokers reviewing this invention to articles interviewing Schiffman—people are anticipating Friend’s release. Not everyone is excited about it as some are drawing parallels with the renowned Netflix series Black Mirror, and others criticizing the creation of an AI necklace for people to talk to.
Schiffman, however, believes that companionship—and more so lack of it—is something that hasn’t been explored by AI developers yet, unlike for example the multitude of productivity tools available today. “Productivity is over, no one cares… The most important things in your life really are people.” Schiffmann said in his interview with WIRED.
Now, let’s focus on how exactly Friend works. Firstly, as much as the creator wishes for Friend to be your best friend, it can only be a friend if connected to Bluetooth. It will listen to everything you say and come up with something to respond to you (whenever it feels like it) but only when it’s connected to Bluetooth and the internet, otherwise you are on your own with your loneliness.
Second fun fact, although Friend listens to your verbal speech, it will only be able to respond in the form of a message popping up on your phone. That’s why having a phone connected to the necklace is mandatory to be able to use the necklace, which is not that surprising compared to other AI or tech devices we already use. However, for now, it is only available for iOS users making it even less obtainable.
Now, privacy. According to the FAQ information on the website, your privacy is protected as “No audio or transcripts are stored past your friend’s context window. ” It also promises an easy one-click erasure of all your memories in the app, as the data is “end-to-end encrypted”.
The design of the necklace is sleek and minimalistic. Many compare Friend’s design to that of an AirTag, which it resembles due to its round form and silver color. However, the button in the middle—that you press whenever you want your Friend to listen to you—makes all the difference.
Whether to get this latest AI innovation or not is for you to decide. However, the move toward the creation of a device aimed to help people deal with loneliness and the desire to have an AI friend that will be available at all times simply to listen to its user makes one question the reality of today’s social climate.
