I can't even imagine what is the first step towards exposing yourself to "AI friend apps". You're sitting at home and what? What happens between getting up one day and installing an AI friend?
> What happens between getting up one day and installing an AI friend?
* You get up one day
* You enter a world where fewer and fewer people are trying to form in-person, human connections because they see pseudonymous social media and parasocial relationships as valid substitute
* You try these relationships too and find they are low-effort ways to keep yourself entertained with surface-level human connections
* Forming actual human connections in-person is too high effort (requires leaving the house; has a risk of rejection) so you don't do it
* An AI friend is low-effort and sort of a human connection so you do that
Ultimately I don't see "having an AI friend" as much worse than "'donating' $500 to Asmongold because he's my friend" (note: Asmongold has no idea who you are).
I'm guessing it's a lot of children and lonely teens. They're already used to installing random apps to play around with while having zero awareness or concern over their privacy or how they can be manipulated and taken advantage of by the apps on their devices. I can see it starting out as curiosity or just mindlessly installing whatever the app store advertised to them and it ending up helping to fill a very real void in their lives.
* You get up one day
* You enter a world where fewer and fewer people are trying to form in-person, human connections because they see pseudonymous social media and parasocial relationships as valid substitute
* You try these relationships too and find they are low-effort ways to keep yourself entertained with surface-level human connections
* Forming actual human connections in-person is too high effort (requires leaving the house; has a risk of rejection) so you don't do it
* An AI friend is low-effort and sort of a human connection so you do that
Ultimately I don't see "having an AI friend" as much worse than "'donating' $500 to Asmongold because he's my friend" (note: Asmongold has no idea who you are).