Avi Schiffmann has just presented Friend, a device with AI that will keep us company and help us in bad and good times
It's been 30 years since Randy Newman created the iconic song You've got a friend in me for the also iconic movie Toy Story. And I have to admit that I haven't stopped humming it since I saw the trailer for this gadget with AI…
If there is something that is being lost today despite communications and globalization, it is that friendship and closeness with other people. It seems that we are less united than before, even though we can talk every day.
Or perhaps on many occasions we feel alone. And there are times when we have this feeling even when we are accompanied.. But once again, new technologies are here to try to improve our mood.
What is FRIEND
It is very simple. So much so that its form factor is similar to what we have already known through other devices such as the Limitless Pendant. The size of a airtag It is placed like a pendant around our neck.
As we can see it couldn't be simpler. He FRIEND It will be a companion wherever we go with whom we can talk whenever we want and will answer both the doubts and simply the thoughts we have.
How does it work?
As they explain on their website —friend.com, which cost Schiffmann $1.8 million—the device will simply be a companion who will respond to our concerns after clicking on it and let them know.
This device will understand what we say and It will return the response in the form of a text message to our mobile phone.as if it were a friend, with the difference that he will always be with us
This device is based on the LLM Claude 3.5 and so that it has a context of what is happening, it has the ability to constantly listen to the conversations we have and in that way it can respond more accurately.
This creates some problems, since depending on the country in which it is sold - it is still in pre-sale on its website - could lead to significant incompatibilities with data protection laws of the different territories.
Furthermore the gadget has a battery that promises about 15 hours of life, which in particular seems like a very short time to me, but it is the price to pay for constantly receiving data through your microphone.
Technological versus real friendship: My opinion
In an interview that the creator gave to WIREDHe literally said: “I feel like I have a closer relationship with this damn pendant around my neck than I do with these literal friends in front of me.”. Personally, that worries me.
It worries me because it is one more step towards the loss of humanity. I have to admit that the concept fascinates me and I love it., like everything that has to do with AI, but I have to admit that I am in a kind of Uncanny Valley with the FRIEND.
On the one hand, I think it will be an ideal companion for all those people who really need it. Dealing with loneliness is always painful, and artificial intelligence is going to help a lot to solve these types of problems.
But on the other hand, it will mean that real contact with other people is not encouraged and that all the conversations we have will be through a microphone and a notification on the mobile. The nuances of a healthy relationship are lost.
What the studies say
As commented in WIRED, Petter Bae Brandtzæg, professor at the University of Oslo is leading several research initiatives related to the social impacts of AI. The result is that AI relationships can foster deeper, more intimate conversations than those that a person would be willing to have with another human being.
“The thing about AI companions is that we interact much more intimately with them and share our most intimate thoughts”, it states. Add to that the fact that it will cause many problems in the short term due to privacy..
And his personality?
On the other hand, there is the issue of «personality" Of the device. At one point in the presentation video, you can see how the FRIEND tells his owner that «it's being embarrassing» because they are beating him up playing video games, which can lead to negative behaviors towards someone with low self-esteem.
What if he starts behaving disrespectfully? Let's imagine that you choose to send contemptuous or passive aggressive messages. I am aware that it will have some limitations, but AI hallucinations are common today.
As I have already mentioned, I find myself fascinated by this type of technology, but part of me wishes it wasn't necessary to have it. We will be attentive to how it develops and what it shows us over time...
How much does FRIEND cost?
This device can be found in pre-sale on its website for $99 and has an expected launch date of January 2025.
