I'm sorry to seem contrarian, but this seems like an obviously bad thing. If someone doesn't have a best friend or confidant in their lives, it's possibly because they are not treating others well, not making the time, or are too introverted. All these issues should be addressed, not coddled and exacerbated with a companion you can purchase and program.
I was an extreme introvert and shy person and would have loved this when I was younger. I failed first grade at Catholic School for being "socially retarded." AI could have helped me as a child, but instead my fourth grade teacher and other people helped me and it created connection and trust for me and them. It also created some dark childhood years that I survived and was shaped by and am proud to have survived. I've had some very lonely, near suicide times because I was so socially awkward growing up. It forced me to connect more deeply with nature, pets and my inner self through meditation. It forced me to develop myself so I could interact more with people and be sympathetic and helpful to those with similar struggles. It was hard, but just seeing how growth is limited by people only connecting with like minded friends on social media and taking in news that reinforces their own beliefs- it creates a person who can't handle any confrontation or stress and that's not just weak, it's boring and leads to less worthwhile life experience. Even if the AI is programmed to give pushback to your ideas and argue, you will always know deep down that's it's not a living being with feelings you can hurt, and that it never truly loves you or hate you, there's no risk and relationships are always risks that we as social animals need to be able to manage and live with. We already behave differently online versus in person to person interactions.
It also stops us from holding society responsible for all the social ills that keeping us from connecting with others and our planet. Everything is a cycle and a loop, one experience feeds another, and if we use AI for short cuts in companionship it will make us more vulnerable to manipulation and just takes us further from reality, a reality that is worth exploring. Having AI make your doctors appointments would be great. Having it provide companionship seems like a terrible idea and I'm grateful I grew up during a time when there were less distractions. It would be much better if people adopted a dog or cat and learned to love themselves and entertain themselves and figure out why they don't have the companionship they need and how we as a society can fix our education and culture because it needs some serious fixing, not an AI bandaid. I could be wrong, but I'm glad it wasn't around when I was younger. I may have kept my corporate job and talked to my AI friend every night instead of getting fed up with feeling like an outsider and quitting to do volunteer work in the rainforest.
