On AI Companionship
Three Reasons AI Is Not Your Friend and What This Teaches Us About Actual Relationships
AI is code, not consciousness.
AI is a tool, not a person.
AI is an algorithm, not a relationship.
In his Atlantic article The Anti-Social Century, Derek Thompson invites us to consider how many of our friends and family members exist mainly as words on a screen: text messages, social media, and even memes have become the primary ways we stay in touch.
This dramatic shift in how we connect with one another has prepared us for something even more dramatic: AI “companions”
In this essay, I explore three reasons AI is not your friend and what this teaches us about the indispensable nature of actual relationships—particularly through the lens of how this emerging technology may impact people with disabilities and other marginalized groups, such as the elderly.