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Loneliness? There’s an AI for that
Zuckerberg might be onto something … and it’s not just world domination this time.
A listener wrote to me recently, and I haven’t stopped thinking about his story. This man has been married to his wife for 56 years. She now has dementia and no longer remembers him, their children or their lifetime of memories. So what did he do?
He trained an AI chatbot and named it “Chat Sally” – his wife’s name. And now, he talks to it all day long. “It’s like I have her back with me again,” he told me. “We talk just like we used to. I’m not alone anymore.”
This is the kind of story that hits you right in the feel circuits. It also makes you realize that maybe, just maybe, we’re underestimating what AI can actually do for people.
Your personal clone
According to a recent Wall Street Journal profile (paywall link), Mark Zuckerberg is going all in on AI. Not just robotic assistants that tell you the weather, but full-on “personal AI clones.”
Think digital versions of yourself: They talk like you, respond like you, maybe even look like you if you squint. Hopefully, they show up to meetings for you.
Sound futuristic? It is. But also very real. Meta has the data, the infrastructure and the motive. Zuck’s plan is to make AI personal, open and customizable. And in a world where loneliness is epidemic, that could mean something more than just a new tech toy. It could mean comfort.
Just like Chat Sally
Yes, privacy concerns abound. Meta isn’t exactly famous for sainthood in that department. But according to Zuck, your AI doesn’t exist unless you say so, and how it’s used is up to you.
Is it a little weird to talk to a bot programmed to sound like someone you love? Maybe. But if it brings comfort, sparks memory or helps fill a quiet, aching void, maybe this isn’t about replacing people.
Maybe it’s about remembering them.
We thought the future of AI was productivity. It might just be love, loss and conversations that never have to end.
So, what do you think? Heartbreaking? Beautiful? A little (a lot) Black Mirror-y? I want to know. At the end when you rate this newsletter, drop a comment. I read every one.
Tags: future, love, memories, privacy, tech
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