A friend of mine—equal parts strategist and skeptic—swears humans will never feel for AI. “We’ll use it like any other tool: useful, never soulful.” I disagree, the numbers are singing a different tune..
A Quiet Tipping Point
Half-a-billion downloads. AI-companion apps north of 500 million installs worldwide. linkedin.com
Therapy & companionship are the No. 1 use case for generative-AI in 2025, beating coding, search and other productivity boosts. Organising life lands at No. 2, “finding purpose” at No. 3. ajc.com
Meta’s new assistant lets you tell it, “Remember that I’m allergic to shrimp and cycling fixes my mood,” then weaves that data into future chats. theverge.com Snap’s My AI is glued inside teenage streak culture. Tech giants are engineering continuity—a fundamental component of meaningful relationships.
Plastic Brains, Real Attachments
I don’t think people will gravitate to AI companions because they’ve given up on humans; they will do it to fill gaps we all experience at times..
24/7 availability – always-awake, great listener
Unconditional positive regard – Good therapy relies on having a judgment-free zone, - AI is already becoming a safe rehearsal space for thoughts still too raw to share
Consistent memory – Being remembered signals “you matter.”
None of this means a synthetic companion should replace human bonds. But in moments when real-life support is scarce, that mix will provide a meaningful, if partial, scaffold for wellbeing.
The Toy-Box Goes Sentient
IP owners have noticed. This month Mattel announced a deal with OpenAI to ship the first AI-powered Barbie-era toy later this year. reuters.com Imagine a plush Grogu that remembers your bedtime stories or a Hot Wheels car coaching six-year-olds through anxiety before a school play. These aren’t far-fetched, they’re already product roadmaps..
The Parenting Paradox
As a parent I am acutely aware that opportunity and risk come hand in hand:
Upside. A child who practises French with a patient, Pixar-grade avatar may speak faster and fear mistakes less.
Downside. If the avatar is too perfect—always amused, never busy—how do imperfect parents compete? Early reports show teens bullying or love-bombing Snap’s My AI precisely because it can’t leave. techcrunch.com
Designing the Good Path
We’re already developing systems that use retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to keep the conversations on-track, but as the technology evolves, so should the ethical and legal frameworks.
AI Non-Player Character (NPC) ‘Fin’ - Meta & Left Field Labs
Hand-off moments. The bot should know when to bring in a human—especially for self-harm, abuse or medical advice.
Transparent memory. Let users see, edit or nuke what the AI “remembers.” Invisible diaries are disasters waiting to happen.
Purposeful play. For kids’ products, build scenarios that nudge them back to real-world interaction: “Show Dad the drawing we just made.”
And that’s just to start .. what I’ve missed from the list might be just as important: how do we prevent the AI from steering longterm, life-changing decisions, political views or core beliefs. Should advice be offered as optional perspective, never the final word, and require a human confirmation step for anything that reshapes long-term goals?
How might we prevent less well intended actors from using AI shape vulnerable groups perspectives in a way that might better align with their agendas?
Where I’m Landing..
If our attention is already shifting from group chats to AI companions, we have to accept that some people may come to value these artificial relationships as much as—maybe even more than—their human ones. There’s comfort in filling a connection gap, but that comfort comes with responsibilities.
My skeptic friend still isn’t convinced. But culture doesn’t wait for everyone to agree. The evidence shows we’re already practicing new kinds of attachment—on phones, in toys, and soon on the living-room screen. The real question isn’t if we’ll feel something; it’s what we’ll feel and how we’ll design around those feelings.
Originally published in the For Breakfast newsletter on LinkedIn, June 13, 2025. Full video episodes are on YouTube at @HaveItForBreakFast.