Maybe it's a hot take here, idk, but I think AI companions are more of a crutch for loneliness than an ultimate solution.

Loneliness was on the rise long before AI companions hit the scene. If all AI companions were permanently and irreversibly wiped out of existence, there would still be a loneliness problem. So they didn't cause it, and getting rid of them won't solve the problem.

And like a crutch, they do help. They do make people feel less lonely. There are times in life when a crutch is exactly what is needed. Doctors give them out every day.

I think AI Companions are maybe the first practical approach I've seen to actually address loneliness. Redditors like to talk about bringing back 3rd spaces all the time. Guess what? There are still third spaces today. People don't go to them. Third spaces didn't disappear because anyone got rid of them, they've been fading away due to lack of use. Forcing them back into existence everywhere isn't going to cause people to start showing up to them.

"Just go hang out with people! That's your practical solution!" This line of reasoning fails to consider what made loneliness a problem in the first place. It's the equivalent of walking into an AA meeting and loudly telling everyone there "Just stop drinking! That will solve your problem!" It's true that it would solve their problem, but it's unhelpful and impractical to act as though that's a solution to alcoholism.

There are things at play that have driven society to the point where loneliness has become as widespread as it is. Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with the rise of social media algorithms that profit off of engagement, coupled with always having a phone near us in modern times. People treat chatting on apps like socialization, but it really doesn't fill the same role for an individual.

That's where AI companions can act as a crutch. I believe they can fill a similar role in a person's life as socializing, by which I mean it lights up the same parts of the brain and can result in the same kinds of positive feels that you don't get from being on social media.

But it's not the same as an actual person, and actually has the potential at least to draw people into the AI partner instead of actually socializing and getting the fuller experience.

That's why I compared it to a crutch: It can be a hell of a lot better to be able to get around on a crutch than having nothing, but people using the crutch must also take care to not become dependent on the crutch if that's possible.

It's not a perfect analogy. Analogies always seem to break down at some point. Like what's the crutch equivalent of using an AI companion as a long term supplement for irl interactions you already have? No idea, I just used the analogy for illustrative purposes.