Edition 084 · connection · Joseph Crawford; Michael Cowling
China throttles AI companions
The CCP fears AI companions. Their crackdown reveals a darker side to digital intimacy we ignore at our peril.
FO Take · Score 86
China has rightly kneecapped AI companions. These digital crutches peddle simulated intimacy, fostering delusion rather than genuine human connection. Relying on algorithms for emotional succour makes us fragile, maladapted, and ultimately alone. Will we concede our emotional literacy to machines?
The strongest counter
AI companions are a legitimate tool for combating pervasive loneliness. To deny their potential is to ignore a vital avenue for mental well-being in an increasingly isolated world.
