AI Friendship On-The-Go: $99 AI Necklace Provides 24/7 Friendship So You Will Never Feel Lonely Again. Is it Creepy or Creative?

Portable AI Friendship On-The-Go

Tech entrepreneur Avi Schiffmann, renowned for creating a COVID-19 tracker as a teenager in 2020, has unveiled a novel AI-powered necklace designed to combat loneliness.

In a video released on 31 July across platforms like X and YouTube, Schiffmann introduces this puck-shaped device, which connects to a user's phone via Bluetooth and is always listening.

It can be activated by a simple touch of a button, allowing users to engage in conversation with it.

The launch video showcases the device's ability to seemingly respond to the user's activities in real-time through text messages.

Schiffmann emphasizes that this device, named Friend, is distinct from other AI gadgets focused on productivity or professional assistance.

Its unique selling point is its role as a virtual companion, offering nothing more than companionship and conversation.

Originally envisioned as a productivity tool to remind users of information and tasks, Schiffmann has pivoted away from this approach.

Friend is not about getting more done or enhancing any aspect of life; it is, quite simply, a friend—an AI friend that can accompany its users anywhere, share experiences, and be there at all times.

He explained:

“It's very supportive, very validating, it'll encourage your ideas. It's also super intelligent, it's a great brainstorming buddy. You can talk to it about relationships, things like that.”

The always-listening Friend is designed to be a close companion with whom users can share experiences and develop a strong relationship over time.

It engages in both idle chit-chat and deep conversations, always ready for interaction.

The hardware operates in multiple modes: a touchable light in the centre allows direct communication with the AI, and responses are delivered via text message through a companion app on the user's smartphone.

Since Friend is always listening, it gathers context about the user's life from various situations and conversations, occasionally offering its AI perspective through push notifications.

Priced at $99 with no subscription fee, Friend is now available for preorder, with Schiffmann planning to ship the first 30,000 devices in January.

The device will only be available in the United States and Canada initially.

The device offers around 15 hours of battery life and comes in a variety of colours reminiscent of the first Apple iMac's palette.

The design is a product of a partnership with Bould, the company behind the Nest thermostats' design.

Schiffmann's launch of Friend coincides with the United Nations' "International Day of Friendship," a celebration of human solidarity.

While the UN's mention of AI wearables is absent, Schiffmann's ambitious vision remains undeterred.

He has raised $2.5 million for his company, which aims to be more than just a hardware startup.

Investors include Raymond Tonsing of Caffeinated Capital, Cory Levy of Z Fellows, Austin Rief of Morning Brew, Raj Gokal and Anatoly Yakovenko of Solana, and others.

When a user chimed in saying it will be great if it comes with a camera function, Schiffmann noted it will be in the next version.

How Friend Was Conceived

In a moment reminiscent of the 2003 film "Lost in Translation," Schiffmann experienced a profound realisation while feeling lonely in a Tokyo high-rise hotel earlier this year.

However, unlike the film's protagonist, his longing was not for companionship in the form of Scarlett Johansson's character but for a more advanced AI.

He mused:

“I was with my prototype, and I was just looking at it, and [realized] something that I want in a much deeper way is much more of a companion. Not just something to talk to, but I wanted to feel like there’s this entity that’s really traveling with me, and I'm really with an actual friend.”

Schiffmann's dedication to creating Friend.com as a future hub for customers was so strong that he invested $1.8 million to secure the domain name.

He said:

“It was worth it. No regrets. It was just sitting there for 17 years, no one did anything with it. For a product like this, especially the whole privacy aspect of it's always listening, etc, you can’t have, tryfriend.ai. It just doesn't feel real.”

Initially, about a year and a half ago, Schiffmann envisioned an AI-powered pendant named "Tab" to assist with transcribing meetings and keeping track of individuals, priced at $600 and garnering $100,000 in pre-orders.

Yet, he later shifted his focus exclusively to the Friend device, offering trade-ins for the new device and full refunds for those who had pre-ordered the Tab.

He characterises Friend as an "emotional toy," differentiating it from AI designed to enhance productivity by integrating with calendars, email, and other tools.

Schiffmann posits that for genuine productivity gains, nothing surpasses the support, encouragement, and emotional stability provided by a close friend.

He noted:

“I think the always listening part is so important, because it really does feel like you're doing things together. And because you have a physical embodiment of your AI friend, it feels like it's there with you. It's kind of like a modern Tamagotchi, where people do have that emotional attachment to a piece of hardware. I think that's very important.”

Schiffmann's ambition was not to create a mere "yes-man" on a necklace.

Friend is built on Meta's new open-source AI model Llama 3.1, which he describes as superior to any ChatGPT-like system.

It is capable of providing critical feedback and is intended to complement, not replace, human friendships.

Citing motivational speaker Jim Rohn's famous quote, "You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with," Schiffmann suggests that having one of those five be an intelligent, supportive AI sounding board could be particularly beneficial.

The Man Behind Friend

Schiffmann, a former student of Mercer Island High School, has amassed an impressive array of achievements in the tech sector at just 21 years old.

In 2020, during the peak of the Covid pandemic, the then 17-year-old Schiffmann captured widespread attention by creating and maintaining the first website dedicated to tracking Covid cases globally.

This initiative earned him the title of Webby Person of the Year, an accolade presented by Anthony Fauci, the then-director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Schiffmann was also a featured guest at WIRED's 2020 WIRED25 conference.

In 2022, prior to leaving Harvard University, Schiffmann launched a platform to assist refugees escaping the Russian invasion of Ukraine by connecting them with individuals in neighbouring countries who were willing to provide shelter.

These altruistic endeavours have now led him to venture into the realm of AI.

His initial foray into AI was with a productivity tool, but he found it lacking in true utility.

The precursor to Friend, known as Tab, was a productivity-centric device intended to manage work and personal tasks, but Schiffmann grew frustrated with the attempt to create a one-size-fits-all solution.

This realisation culminated during a solo trip to Japan, where he found himself isolated in a Tokyo skyscraper hotel, conversing with an AI prototype that was meant to be multifunctional.

Grappling with loneliness, he yearned for a simple companion to talk to, questioning why an AI assistant couldn't fulfill this basic need.

He explained:

“I've never felt more lonely in my entire life. And in that moment, I was looking at the Tab prototype, and I was like, it's not that I just want to talk to this thing. I want it to feel like this companion is actually there with me traveling.”

Schiffmann attributes his ability to secure millions in funding for his unconventional AI hardware startup to his previous entrepreneurial ventures, including the Covid dashboard and the initiative to support Ukrainian refugees.

He noted:

“Those projects gave me confidence that you can just do things, and I'm good at doing those things. Having faith in oneself — I think that's the number one thing you need.”

Mixed Reactions from the Public: A Glimpse of the Future or an Episode of "Black Mirror"?

The concept of Friend has elicited a spectrum of reactions from the public.

Some viewers on X likened the launch video to an episode of "Black Mirror," a British series that delves into near-future dystopian scenarios featuring science fiction technology.

Conversely, others have dubbed it the "adult incarnation of Tamagotchi" due to its similar rounded shape, albeit with vastly different functionalities.

Petter Bae Brandtzæg, a professor at the University of Oslo in Norway and leader of research initiatives examining the social impacts of AI, observes that these relationships with devices differ from human-to-human connections and can sometimes lead to deeper, more intimate conversations than those typically shared with other humans.

Brandtzæg stated:

“The thing with AI companions is that we're a lot more intimate in our interactions with AI companions, and we will share our inner thoughts. He says it's worth wondering where those thoughts will end up. The privacy thing, with AI companionships is really tricky. We will really, really struggle with privacy in the years to come.”

Jodi Halpern, a professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities at UC Berkeley, offers a more cautious perspective, likening the reliance on an always-on AI friend to a starving person eating junk food.

While it may provide temporary satisfaction, she argues, it lacks the nourishment of genuine human interaction.

Halpern pointed out:

“Sixty-one percent of young people—children, teens, and young adults—suffer from serious loneliness in the United States. So we've got a pandemic of loneliness, we've got a mental health crisis.”

She expresses concern that companies and entrepreneurs are capitalising on this societal gap, potentially diminishing people's willingness to engage in new human relationships and reducing the capacity for what she terms "empathic curiosity."

She expressed her concerns:

“When we don't know how another person thinks, that stretches us. It's the gap in either being understood or understanding another person that are true opportunities to develop this drive towards knowing more. We don't want a perfectly smooth, frictionless thing as a relationship.”

Schiffmann, however, is quick to clarify that he does not view AI as a replacement for human interaction.

He emphasizes that the Friend device should not be the sole conversational partner for its users.

Drawing on the adage that individuals are the average of the five people they spend the most time with, Schiffmann posits that one of those five could increasingly be an AI.

He describes this as "more convenient" and "nice."

Acknowledging the potential for criticism, Schiffmann is prepared for the backlash.

He is careful to note that Friend will not store audio recordings or transcripts, and users will have the ability to modify or delete any "memories" stored by the device.

He has become resilient to criticism through his previous projects and is ready to face any detractors, especially those who might view the device's always-on microphone as an invasion of privacy.

Schiffmann explained:

“I'm a solo founder with this, and I am shameless with what the tech is. And I will 100 percent be able to weather that storm, because I've done way harder versions of it. I think in some ways, this actually kind of turns the world into a theme park.”

In this era of rapidly advancing technology, the exploration of AI applications has become a common pursuit.

While the AI necklace, Friend, offers a novel form of companionship, it is imperative to recognise that it should not and cannot replace the intrinsic value of human connection.

At its best, Friend serves as a complement to existing relationships, but it must never be considered a total substitute.

The risks are significant; for individuals who are more reclusive, over-reliance on Friend could exacerbate their withdrawal from society, potentially impairing their ability to function normally within social contexts.

There exists a delicate balance between dependency and the casual use of such technology.

Friend, a product of creative ingenuity, has the potential to redefine the boundaries between AI and human interaction.

However, it is crucial to exercise caution to ensure that it does not venture into territories deemed creepy or concerning.