Derek Thompson

And you think about the fact that young people today who are being handed their first phone when they're whatever, 9, 10 years old, think of friendship as being something that in many cases, or human relationship, as being something that in many cases is almost purely a relationship between you looking at a pane of glass and seeing dot, dot, dot, and then blue bubbles appearing.

And you think about the fact that young people today who are being handed their first phone when they're whatever, 9, 10 years old, think of friendship as being something that in many cases, or human relationship, as being something that in many cases is almost purely a relationship between you looking at a pane of glass and seeing dot, dot, dot, and then blue bubbles appearing.

And you think about the fact that young people today who are being handed their first phone when they're whatever, 9, 10 years old, think of friendship as being something that in many cases, or human relationship, as being something that in many cases is almost purely a relationship between you looking at a pane of glass and seeing dot, dot, dot, and then blue bubbles appearing.

Is it really so different to just text an AI all day long? If that AI responds immediately, always validates your feelings, always has consideration for your deepest and darkest fears, is trained precisely to tell you how smart and good and right you are about all of your worries and all the people you hate, there's a way in which, what I've said before, before we build, like,

Is it really so different to just text an AI all day long? If that AI responds immediately, always validates your feelings, always has consideration for your deepest and darkest fears, is trained precisely to tell you how smart and good and right you are about all of your worries and all the people you hate, there's a way in which, what I've said before, before we build, like,

Is it really so different to just text an AI all day long? If that AI responds immediately, always validates your feelings, always has consideration for your deepest and darkest fears, is trained precisely to tell you how smart and good and right you are about all of your worries and all the people you hate, there's a way in which, what I've said before, before we build, like,

A superintelligence of IQ will have accidentally built a superintelligence of EQ. That in many ways, a lot of things that people want from relationships are actually kind of computationally shallow, right? They want validation. They want responsiveness. They want to feel better. They want to feel maybe like they've made something else feel something. But that can be engineered as well.

A superintelligence of IQ will have accidentally built a superintelligence of EQ. That in many ways, a lot of things that people want from relationships are actually kind of computationally shallow, right? They want validation. They want responsiveness. They want to feel better. They want to feel maybe like they've made something else feel something. But that can be engineered as well.

A superintelligence of IQ will have accidentally built a superintelligence of EQ. That in many ways, a lot of things that people want from relationships are actually kind of computationally shallow, right? They want validation. They want responsiveness. They want to feel better. They want to feel maybe like they've made something else feel something. But that can be engineered as well.

The AI could simply say, that's a wonderful point. I feel much better now.

The AI could simply say, that's a wonderful point. I feel much better now.

The AI could simply say, that's a wonderful point. I feel much better now.

You believe that you believe that. And I believe that because we're geriatric millennials, right? No, no, in all seriousness, we agree about that point. Well, no, it's true, though. But think about, but I am not certain.

You believe that you believe that. And I believe that because we're geriatric millennials, right? No, no, in all seriousness, we agree about that point. Well, no, it's true, though. But think about, but I am not certain.

You believe that you believe that. And I believe that because we're geriatric millennials, right? No, no, in all seriousness, we agree about that point. Well, no, it's true, though. But think about, but I am not certain.

I know for a fact that millions of people are already having fulfilling, to them, relationships. No, they think that they are. Oh, sure. I'm using the word fulfilling as it represents their thinking. I don't think it's a healthy relationship. I don't think it scales across society well.

I know for a fact that millions of people are already having fulfilling, to them, relationships. No, they think that they are. Oh, sure. I'm using the word fulfilling as it represents their thinking. I don't think it's a healthy relationship. I don't think it scales across society well.

I know for a fact that millions of people are already having fulfilling, to them, relationships. No, they think that they are. Oh, sure. I'm using the word fulfilling as it represents their thinking. I don't think it's a healthy relationship. I don't think it scales across society well.

I wrote this 8,000-word cover story called The Antisocial Century that includes a 1,000-word section called This Is Your Politics on Solitude, and then it was like Our AI Future. I think this is coming. I think it is going to be a social crisis because many people are going to be seduced by the convenience of AI friendships and thus sacrifice the depth of human friendships.

I wrote this 8,000-word cover story called The Antisocial Century that includes a 1,000-word section called This Is Your Politics on Solitude, and then it was like Our AI Future. I think this is coming. I think it is going to be a social crisis because many people are going to be seduced by the convenience of AI friendships and thus sacrifice the depth of human friendships.