[brudgers]

In what ways would that AI be like social media in regard to loneliness?

In what ways would that AI be different than social media in regard to loneliness?

What clinical basis would that AI’s design have…aren’t we talking about people’s mental health here, after all?

What safeguards would that AI have in regard to harmful responses?

Good luck.

[omars_]

For lonely people I imagine social media is passive scrolling for the most part, maybe even with one way interactions (likes / comments). Some might be engaging with other users on social media, but it would almost certainly be text (a reddit thread conversation, or getting a response to a reply you made on some other social media).

With conversational AI, it would be a dynamic voice conversation, where the AI would be responding to you live, and the medium of speech-to-speech would also feel social in a way that text based communication does not.

The lonely user might still think that their interactions dont count because it's a fake person that they are engaging with, but since there are people using AI girlfriend/boyfriend services, I imagine an AI friend/coach should appeal to people as well, but be healthier than simulating a romantic connection with an AI.

In terms of safeguards and clinically backed design for the AI, I'm hoping to foster a conversation around it. Most LLMs have various safeguards in place around harmful responses, and while this product would hopefully be alleviating peoples mental health by reducing their feeling of loneliness, it wouldn't be developed as a therapist, but more of a friend. Still, knowing how to make an effective friend isn't trivial, and I'm open to figuring out how best to do that - ideally it would involve having users willing to engage with a WIP product that is iterated on based on their feedback.

[brudgers]

since there are people using AI girlfriend/boyfriend services

Does anyone marry them and build a life together with them?

Likewise, how would that AI build a long term relationship…what happens when the code changes…when the TOS changes…when the service is shut down?

Are you sure that AU would be healthy?

[omars_]

I haven't looked into AI girlfriend/boyfriend services too much, but they seem like exploitative services that hog up peoples time and money and further isolate them from the real world.

If people are willing to spend time and money on these services, I thought one should be able to come up with a more thoughtful and healthy service that actually helps people / nudges them towards a healthier lifestyle.

Hence having a companion or a coach that alleviates feelings of isolation and encourages you to do things that could get you the real thing. While all the issues you raise are valid, there are solutions for them as well (subscription that pays for the service so it doesn't shut down, allowing you to lock in AI if you don't want updates changing its personality.. in any case, the personality should more be formed from the data it collects from its conversations with you over time)

There are definitely ways in which this could be unhealthy, which is why I was curious about how one could go about a way to maximize the chances of it being a healthy and helpful service.