In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued a public health advisory calling loneliness and isolation a public health crisis that poses serious health risks, including increased risk for cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity,” he wrote.
Loneliness is dangerous. Could AI friends help?
Making Friends with Machine Learning
AI friends, also called AI companions or social chatbots, are essentially chatbots programmed to provide companionship to users. They’re based on the same basic technology — machine learning and natural language processing — as ChatGPT but are programmed specifically to provide friendship.
