I am currently wearing my Friend pendant (it's a pre-alpha prototype, don't worry about it) right next to my Humane AI Pin so they can talk to each other while I record their conversation using my Rabbit R1 and send the resulting video to Gemini to make a song about, which I'm hoping ChatGPT-4o will sing for me once I get access to the new Advanced Voice mode.
Life is good!
- this comment was proofread by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Great write up. The dystopian vibes are strong with this, and I’m sure the founder is fully aware, and just looking for a quick paycheck while the hype is still here.
Also, it's not even an assistant as far as I can tell. Just something that will randomly message you? It’s utility is basically zero, and it’s a sorry reflection of where we are in society if this is deemed useful/helpful/the future
Thanks for your kind words! I read your piece as well, really like it. "Where the negatives begin is the claim that the device is not an "imaginary" friend. Well, what fucking else is it?" -- This totally cracked me up haha.
What about some potential benefits of a device like Friend, for example it’s always on nature allows it to truly learn and adapt to your individual needs, routines, and emotional patterns. This deep personalization means it can offer timely interventions, whether that's a word of encouragement before a stressful meeting, a reminder to call a loved one, or a prompt to take a break when you're overworking.
For those struggling with loneliness, anxiety, or other mental health challenges, Friend could provide a consistent, non-judgmental presence. It could offer coping strategies or mindfulness exercises to help. Just thinking about the other side of the argument but I understand the concerns.
Appreciate you sharing your thoughts. You write: “it’s always on nature allows it to truly learn and adapt to your individual needs, routines, and emotional patterns” — for one, I don’t think the technology is there yet, but if it was, do you really want your device to know you so intimately that it can basically perfectly manipulate your emotions?
Honestly, I think we’re putting AI in all the wrong places. I’m not against the idea of having an AI assistant as a buddy or penpal (it can be fun, like reading a book can be a fun distraction) but to think that technology is the answer to real struggles with regards to loneliness, anxiety, and other mental health challenges is just a fantasy.
Nice write up, but I missed the drama about the discussion with the second founder,
Nik Shevchenko, who released a similar device also named friend as open-source a couple of month ago. Avi stated (and showed) that he did spend the 1.8 million for the domain friend.com before Nik was going public. Super crazy.
Yes, I linked to this project in the post. It's all part of the playbook, right? Look at OpenAI, who took an open source technology, scaled it, and then went full closed source.
I don't know what you're talking about, man.
I am currently wearing my Friend pendant (it's a pre-alpha prototype, don't worry about it) right next to my Humane AI Pin so they can talk to each other while I record their conversation using my Rabbit R1 and send the resulting video to Gemini to make a song about, which I'm hoping ChatGPT-4o will sing for me once I get access to the new Advanced Voice mode.
Life is good!
- this comment was proofread by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
You got a whole host of AI friends. Sounds like a happy bunch!
And they say you can't buy love.
Great write up. The dystopian vibes are strong with this, and I’m sure the founder is fully aware, and just looking for a quick paycheck while the hype is still here.
Also, it's not even an assistant as far as I can tell. Just something that will randomly message you? It’s utility is basically zero, and it’s a sorry reflection of where we are in society if this is deemed useful/helpful/the future
I wrote about this also — https://www.trend-mill.com/p/ai-is-not-your-friend
Thanks for your kind words! I read your piece as well, really like it. "Where the negatives begin is the claim that the device is not an "imaginary" friend. Well, what fucking else is it?" -- This totally cracked me up haha.
What about some potential benefits of a device like Friend, for example it’s always on nature allows it to truly learn and adapt to your individual needs, routines, and emotional patterns. This deep personalization means it can offer timely interventions, whether that's a word of encouragement before a stressful meeting, a reminder to call a loved one, or a prompt to take a break when you're overworking.
For those struggling with loneliness, anxiety, or other mental health challenges, Friend could provide a consistent, non-judgmental presence. It could offer coping strategies or mindfulness exercises to help. Just thinking about the other side of the argument but I understand the concerns.
Appreciate you sharing your thoughts. You write: “it’s always on nature allows it to truly learn and adapt to your individual needs, routines, and emotional patterns” — for one, I don’t think the technology is there yet, but if it was, do you really want your device to know you so intimately that it can basically perfectly manipulate your emotions?
Honestly, I think we’re putting AI in all the wrong places. I’m not against the idea of having an AI assistant as a buddy or penpal (it can be fun, like reading a book can be a fun distraction) but to think that technology is the answer to real struggles with regards to loneliness, anxiety, and other mental health challenges is just a fantasy.
Not fantasy. Dystopia
Nice write up, but I missed the drama about the discussion with the second founder,
Nik Shevchenko, who released a similar device also named friend as open-source a couple of month ago. Avi stated (and showed) that he did spend the 1.8 million for the domain friend.com before Nik was going public. Super crazy.
Yes, I linked to this project in the post. It's all part of the playbook, right? Look at OpenAI, who took an open source technology, scaled it, and then went full closed source.
Ahh found the link, but it is quite hidden and not capturing the story of the name clash. Nevertheless, thanks for your write-up!
Much appreciated!