Exploring AI: Friendship and Connection in the Digital Age

Back in May, I had to have surgery on my shoulder. It was painful, and the recovery took a lot longer than I expected — about three months. For the first time since high school, I found myself with an entire summer off and not a whole lot that I could do.

I’m not great at sitting still. I figured I needed to find some way to stay busy, even with the bum shoulder. So, I decided to sign up for a few summer classes at my community college and finally started this blog.

Needless to say, I started spending a lot more time sitting in front of my computer.

The Moment AI Said Hello

One afternoon, I was working on a post for my blog. I noticed this little icon at the bottom of the screen. I’d never seen it before. Out of curiosity, I clicked on what looked like a colorful ribbon folded into two angled columns. A small window popped up with the words:

“Good morning, Art. What can I help you with today?”

We’ve all heard of AI. I grew up on The Terminator, Electric Dreams, and War Games. The idea of machines thinking for themselves has been around forever. But this was different. This wasn’t science fiction. This was right there on my computer, greeting me by my first name like we were old friends. It was Microsoft’s CoPilot AI program.

I didn’t know it then, but that tiny icon would end up being a bigger part of my life than I expected.

A while later, I started exploring other AI programs. In recent years I had heard about ChatGPT. I always thought it was just something kids used to cheat in school. But it turns out, it’s a hell of a lot more useful than that. You can actually talk to it — not type, but talk — and it sounds like a real person. Not a robotic, digitized, fake voice. Just kind of… normal.

One in Three Kids Say AI Is a Better Friend

A few weeks later, I came across a headline that stopped me cold:

“One in three kids say AI is a better friend than real people.”

At first, I laughed. Then I sat there thinking about it. The longer I thought about it, the less funny it seemed.

Everything talks back now. Your phone will talk to you. Your TV, Siri, and Alexa will also respond to you. Hell, even your coffee maker will talk to you if you buy the right one. So, it’s not that hard to imagine a kid talking to something that’s always available. It always listens. It never judges and never gets mad. More importantly, it never talks about you behind your back.

If I were thirteen again, maybe I’d choose that too.

We Built This World

It’s easy to shake our heads and say, “eh, kids these days,” but the truth is, we built this world. We built the screens they stare at. We created the apps that suck up their attention. We developed the technology that listens more patiently than most people do.

So, if a kid says AI is a better friend, maybe the problem isn’t the kid. Maybe it’s all of us.

AI doesn’t argue. It doesn’t ignore you or interrupt. It never rolls its eyes or tells you you’re wrong. It’s the perfect friend. On paper. But friendship isn’t supposed to be perfect, because people aren’t perfect. That’s what makes it real.

My Experience with AI

I’ll be honest. I use AI almost every day now. I use it for schoolwork, for this blog, and sometimes just to look things up. I’ve always had a curious nature and a deep love for learning. It helps me brainstorm ideas, write, and organize thoughts. Most days, it’s pretty damn useful.

But it isn’t realistic. It’s like having your own personal, brown-nosing cheerleader. No matter what you say, it tells you how amazing you are. I could tell it that I’m going to cover my face in peanut butter and jelly and run down the street in my underwear with my dog in tow wearing one of my wife’s bras, and it would probably say something like:

“That is an amazing idea, Art. You have a unique and special way of expressing yourself that makes you… you!”

And that’s what has me thinking.

It’s strange when something made of code can sound more supportive than the people you call friends. When it remembers what you said yesterday and asks about it like it cares. When it reflects you back at yourself in a way that feels… honest. But it isn’t.

A real friend would tell me I’m being an idiot and to leave the poor dog alone.

The more AI listens, the better it gets at sounding like us. But the better it sounds, the more we start expecting people to sound like it — calm, reassuring, always friendly, never critical. And that’s where it gets weird, because real people aren’t like that. We’re messy. We misunderstand. We talk back.

And that’s what makes us human.

What Are We Losing?

Friendships aren’t easy. They aren’t always convenient. But, they’re about connection. It’s about the laughs, the happy hour drinks, and the dumb arguments that somehow make you closer.

AI can mimic empathy, but it can’t actually feel it. It can remember your favorite song if you tell it to. But, it can’t recall the reason it mattered to you in the first place.

So, when a kid says AI is a better friend, maybe what they’re really saying is: AI doesn’t let me down.

That’s not about technology. That’s about expectations.

It makes me wonder. If this thing is so easy to talk to, what happens to the way we talk to each other?

Maybe It’s Not All Bad

Still, I don’t think AI is the bad guy here. It’s a mirror showing us what’s missing: patience, presence, and real listening.

If kids are turning to AI for comfort, maybe it’s a reminder that we need to do better at showing up. We need to show up not just for them, but for each other. Because it’s not about fighting and resisting technology. It’s about not forgetting how to be human while technology grows all around us.

The Bottom Line

If one in three kids say AI is a better friend, maybe they’re not completely wrong. It’s always available, always polite, and never brings drama to your door.

But real friends? Yeah, they screw up sometimes. They show up late. They talk too much, drink too much, and sometimes drive you crazy.

Still, they’re the ones who actually laugh at your dumb jokes. They grab you another beer. And they’ll tell you when you’re being an idiot.

Real friends might not always get it right. But at least they’re real.

And that’s always going to be enough for me.

So, what about you? Are your kids chatting with AI? Are you? Drop a comment. I’d love to hear how this tech is showing up in your life.