The Zuckerberg Plan: Replace Your Friends with AI

It’s ironic. When Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook, he envisioned it as a way for college friends to stay connected with each other. However, that vision is shifting into something darker and borderline dystopian. During an onstage interview with Stripe co-founder and president John Collison, Zuckerberg envisioned a future where our friends are AI-powered.

A future where AI is our friend

Zuckerberg said, “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.” The Meta CEO also made similar statements during a podcast with media analyst Ben Thompson. “For people who don’t have a person who’s a therapist, I think everyone will have an AI.”

There’s no denying that AI has its benefits. In the past, we would have had to do our own research. We’d have to sift through dozens of websites and journals to find what we need. This can take hours, days, weeks, or months, depending on the complexity of the topic. However, these days with AI like ChatGPT, you can ask it a question, and it’ll have all the answers for you in seconds.

Plus, it has the added benefit of understanding what you’re asking. This is thanks to natural language processing. This means that instead of trying to game Google’s search by using more advanced search parameters, filters, and keywords, you can ask AI questions like you would a friend.

The AI revolution is already happening

There are many stories of people using AI as a therapist, a financial consultant, or a friend. So, Zuckerberg’s envisioned future of AI friends isn’t too far off. However, not everyone is convinced. According to Meghana Dhar, a former Instagram executive, “The very platforms that have led to our social isolation and being chronically online are now posing a solution to the loneliness epidemic. It almost seems like the arsonist coming back and being the fireman.”

On the flip side, some think that in certain situations, having AI is better than nothing. Stephen Schueller, a professor of psychological science at the University of California, says, “Most people don’t have access to a therapist. So for them, it’s not chatbot versus therapist. It’s chatbot versus nothing.”

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