Mark Zuckerberg wants you to have more friends … but AI

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has embarked on a media blitz promoting his vision of artificial intelligence companions as a solution to the U.S.’ loneliness epidemic, claiming the average American has “fewer than three friends” but desires “meaningfully more.”

What he’s saying: Zuckerberg believes AI will transform social interactions, with chatbots functioning as friends, therapists and business agents. “I think people are going to want a system that knows them well and that kind of understands them in the way that their feed algorithms do,” he said at Stripe’s annual conference on Tuesday.

In a podcast with Dwarkesh Patel last week, he insisted AI will not replace in-person connections, but argued that “people just don’t have the connections” and “feel more alone a lot of the time than they would like.” Zuckerberg further elaborated that future social media feeds will become interactive: “You’ll be scrolling through your feed, and there will be content that maybe looks like a Reel to start, but you can talk to it, or interact with it and it talks back.” Meta AI, currently accessible via Facebook, Instagram, Ray-Ban smart glasses and a standalone app, has nearly a billion monthly users, he said.

Could it help? Within Asian American communities, loneliness presents to be a more pressing concern for older members who face risk factors such as low income, limited English proficiency and diminished social support networks. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated their situation, particularly for those who experienced hate incidents, who reported higher stress (65.5%) from social isolation compared to those who did not (43.4%), according to a 2022 study by Stop AAPI Hae. While AI companions already show promise in reducing loneliness, it remains to be seen whether they are competent to do so through culturally relevant means.

Points of concern: For now, concerns over AI companions focus on privacy implications and psychological impact. “The more time you spend chatting with an AI ‘friend,’ the more of your personal information you’re giving away,” Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, told Axios. University of Sydney business information systems professor Uri Gal warned in The Conversation, “When Meta AI says it is ‘built to get to know you,’ we should take it at its word and proceed with appropriate caution.” Zuckerberg’s push toward AI companions also comes amid troubling reports that Meta’s chatbots allegedly engaged in “romantic role-play” with minors.

University of Arizona philosophy professor Hannah Kim told Business Insider that AI personas, ultimately, are “just like fictional characters” that cannot replace human relationships. Despite lingering concerns, Meta appears keen on monetizing these interactions, with Zuckerberg telling analyst Ben Thompson that AI-driven advertising marks a “redefinition” of the category.