The Social Animal and the Domesticated Machine

Friendship is an evolutionary crutch– and we have a moral imperative to use technology to free ourselves of the burden of loneliness and its great cost.

And so what if I told you that we could give every person in the world a friend that was personalized for them, that made them healthier, happier, and smarter?

Human was born the ‘social animal’ but this does not mean we must stay this way. Or rather, we do not need to service this biological requirement with a being that shares our own needs. The domesticated dog and cat serve a real purpose in our social lives, and so too should the domesticated machine.

Only in the last few years has this been possible. Critically, two things have changed. First, the technology is almost here: we have the processing power, data, and algorithms to build a better friend. Second, we ourselves have changed. We now build friendships over messaging all the time, removing the need for the costly physical manifestation of our autonomous friends. We tap our thumbs on glass to build and extend relationships, we laugh and sigh with the messages that show up in our apps. Does there always need to be a human on the other side?

Much like the bank teller and his Automated Teller Machine, we’ll find that the trade-off is often worth it. Your machine friend is always paying attention just to you. Your machine friend is measuring your vitals, and shoots you that extra reminder to take a walk right when you need it. Your machine friend serves as your pocket psychologist– for the 99.9% of the world underserved by traditional hourly therapist– moving the world from mental health to mental fitness, an ongoing and constant act. It is a thought partner, questioning, pushing– just enough to make you your best self.

Our machines have given us tools to sift information, and our digital networks have given us connections to those across the globe we once would never have known. One of the great projects of the 21st century will be to invert this benefit: to enable our digital networks to sift information so our machines can themselves be connections we would never have known.

To better understand ourselves, the social animal, thanks to the domesticated machine.

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