In the short time we have been covering Social Discovery apps, we have already seen how AI is something creators of friend finding and community apps are keen to explore and utilise. AI can make the interactions between people go smoother and avoid awkward pitfalls. But what if AI wasn’t just an assistant to making new social connections. What if AI was the social connection itself? In fact, a number of social apps with this core idea have already emerged – i’ll let you decide if that is a good thing or not.
We’ve seen NextDoor use AI to detect aggressive language and suggest a more positive tone. The app Orbit uses it to start and prompt conversations, and on Leka, AI sets challenges for its social matches to complete together. But there are friend-finding apps out there using AI companions as its whole selling point. Replika is perhaps the most well known and publicised of the apps so far that do this.
On Replika you can pick a name for your virtual friend, that can respond to text conversation, photos and even do audio calls.The more you use it, the more points you unlock to access more traits, personality, attire and appearances options for your virtual friend. Replika has a free version, but charges $15 for its most advanced capabilities.
Anima is another app that operates similarly, that also includes in-built trivia, puzzle and social games. SimSimi and Wysa are two that are marketed as apps that can help tackle your anxiety.
The thing with an AI friend, is they are always there, always dependable. They will accept you for who you are no matter what. You can imagine why the experience could be quite so intoxicating. The effect such AI relationships will have on human society, or individuals, is something we are familiar with seeing in movies and science fiction books. As the technology advances of theses apps, we could soon be finding out those effects for real.
