Thoughts on Friend - Conversational AI pendant to combat loneliness
The launch of a new AI-based hardware product, Friend, went viral yesterday on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AviSchiffmann/status/1818284595902922884
Most of the reactions I saw online have been very negative. The common complaint is that Friend creates a dystopian future of companionship with intrusive technology.
Would love to hear your thoughts!
- "Friend" is a wearable pendant around your neck that "purportedly listens to everything you say and responds to you 'conversationally' via a chat window on your phone"
- Friend connects to your phone via Bluetooth and tries to develop a personality based on listening to what you say and do.
- It costs $99 and the product is ~6 months out: pre-orders start shipping in Q1 2025.
- The video on Twitter has been viewed 22M times! That's good marketing.
I'll share my thoughts first.
Discussion
(8 comments)- 3
3 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroOne day tech people will understand that Black Mirror isn't something we should aspire to.
- 1
3 months agoSupportive TarodactylTaro CommunityThank you for being one of the few people to point this out.
Surprised that few people in silicon valley have considered the social impacts of AI "friend" apps. We're already in a loneliness epidemic that has been exacerbated through covid. Imo, we need more sense of community, third spaces, and walkable environments to combat loneliness.
We also need more education on healthy relationship skills like empathy and compromise. I worry that AI "friend" apps will never teach people these skills (since an AI doesn't have any needs of its own) or fix the underlying structures. Not all social problems can be solved via technology; some require a more holistic and systemic solution. - 12 months agoRahul Pandey [OP]Tech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
IMO, it's premature to judge the product. Many ideas seem frivolous or silly at the time they are proposed, but they eventually evolve into something compelling.
PG even has an essay about this: How to get startup ideas:
When something is described as a toy, that means it has everything an idea needs except being important.
Having an AI friend doesn't mean that it will replace human friendship. I could also see a world where it makes human friendship more interesting and deeper.
- 12 months agoSupportive TarodactylTaro Community
Having an AI friend doesn't mean that it will replace human friendship.
Although you are right, I'm worried that for the people who will use it (lonely people), they could substitute it for human connection, and that makes me worried.
I believe it's important for all human beings to learn healthy interpersonal relationship skills -- making friends requires many of them. Apps like this might temporarily self-soothe at best, and I fear they can create a dependency at worst. These lonely people may never develop the skills they need to build genuine human connections. Again, the broader social context of the problem matters here.
Second, even if some people wear it, who would want to be around someone wearing this necklace that is recording what everyone around them is saying? Hard to believe that people will buy this, but I'll keep an open mind. - 12 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
The funny thing is that you can see in the trailer that the derpy pendant is sabotaging people's relationships lol. I was cringing so hard with the girl bringing the "Friend" on a date, and the guy is like "uhh okay..." (I don't think a 2nd date is coming 😆)
- 2
3 months agoSWE @ Govt / Founder @ land.org.au & langpal 语朋I definitely have quite a few thoughts:
- It's super cool to have an idea and see it to fruition, especially cool to see new hardware popping up
- But I think LLM-based hardware is in a VERY precarious situation due to all these issues surrounding Humane and Rabbit, so consumer expectations are much much higher
- Avi has good Twitter clout but I don't see the founder-product fit, he previously made/helped make 2 very popular and socially positive web apps but has (seemingly) no hardware experience (unlike Palmer Luckey of Oculus for example)
- I think the video has super high production value but I'm skeptical it works anywhere close to how it currently functions; it could be a look into the future, but due to the above consumer expectation, unsure if that's a good idea
- The pricing is too low for what you get; even if it functions just like ChatGPT, $99 for infinite inference to Whisper & a GPT3.5-4 level model seems wild
- Buying a domain for $1.8 on a payment plan is either playing 4D chess (if the product exceedingly delivers) or a bit silly if it flops; risk it for the biscuit ig haha
- 13 months agoRahul Pandey [OP]Tech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
My thoughts:
- I commend the progress and launch. The fact that someone built this is very cool. This is why Silicon Valley is awesome!
- The launch video is well-made and elicits a strong reaction. Not necessarily optimistic feelings, but it's been great marketing.
- This device is not at all about productivity or utility. It's about combatting loneliness. So for the vast majority of people, this isn't solving a hair-on-fire problem. Vitamins don't sell nearly as well, especially from an unknown hardware company.
- The product is shockingly cheap, especially since they'll probably have substantial LLM costs for processing so many conversations.
- Given the above, I'd be worried about the long-term viability of the company. Most startups fail quickly, and even more for hardware products. I don't want to buy it and then the product gets killed shortly after.
- 1
2 months agoSenior SWE, Manager at GoogleInteresting idea; more interesting if it was a robotic agent.
Could be viable, for specific occasions. After all, in Japan, you could hire someone to eat lunch with you or go on a date and forget it afterwards. Very niche but still some $$?
I think the fact that this thing is with you all the time isn’t actually good. You don’t want a friend to be watching everything you do in real life. We make time to do stuff together with our friends. So I feel like it should be a limited usage thing if it’s going after that angle?
A b2b angle: offer restaurants a tool that could talk to single-diners and talk to them about their day. Could be interesting for places like ichiran. The engagement is only for as long as they are there at the restaurant.
