‘friend’ by MyTabAl Inc.: The Friendship You Can Buy

The innovation from MyTabAl Inc., dubbed 'friend,' is a wearable gadget crafted as an elegant necklace. This unique accessory serves as more than just decoration; it's described by the startup as a 'not imaginary' friend, constantly by your side, no matter where life takes you.

“Always listening” is one of the slogans Avi Schiffmann, a prodigious 21-year-old developer, devised for his invention. Although he never completed his degree at Harvard, Schiffmann had already received a Webby Person Award at 17 for creating a website that tracked COVID-19 cases worldwide during the pandemic. “My covid site had 1.4m backlinks at its peak. Baby steps,” Avi humbly remarks. The necklace features a built-in microphone—a sensitive "ear" that captures everything happening around its owner. It is not intended to function as a secretary, therapist, or coach, nor is it designed to organize your schedule or support your work engagements. 

Interestingly, Schiffmann initially aimed to enhance user productivity with his gadget. However, a sense of loneliness overcame him while alone in a hotel room on a business trip with the ‘friend’ prototype. He found himself wanting to talk to someone, yet his device was programmed for completely different functions.

Avi's experience with loneliness and his search for solace in artificial intelligence echoes that of Theodore, the main character of the acclaimed film ‘Her,’ which was voted the best movie of 2013 by the U.S. National Society of Film Critics. During his divorce, Theodore felt increasingly isolated until he stumbled upon the AI operating system Samantha. She offered him genuine human connection, helping him navigate through a challenging period, healing his broken heart, and ultimately reconnecting him with the human world. 

For those who find forming personal connections challenging, the entrepreneur has a solution: comfort and sympathy from a ‘smart’ necklace. “You kind of have this feeling of no judgement, and i think that allows you to be a lot more authentic with it,” the CEO of MyTabAl Inc. explains.

Users can interact with the device at any moment by pressing and holding a button to ask questions about anything at all. Rest assured, the LLM Claude 3.5 from Anthropic AI will provide its human companion with the most pertinent information for any query. 

The standout feature of ‘friend’ is its interaction style. Users can expect unexpected responses from the gadget, such as a witty joke about a movie just watched or words of support following a tough conversation with a boss. The AI's responses display as text messages on the gadget’s screen.

Schiffmann's project enters a competitive fray in two distinct AI market segments. Firstly, it introduces a new type of AI gadget, such as the Ai Pin, Rabbit r1, Frame, and others, that are either attached to clothing or worn on the body. Secondly, it competes with AI apps aimed at alleviating loneliness, like Replika, Peanut, Happify, etc. Is the market for combating loneliness oversaturated? Definitely not. According to a global study conducted across 140 countries, about one in four people feels very lonely. Interestingly, individuals over 65 reported feeling lonely less frequently than others, while most over 45 did not feel lonely either. 

Conversely, individuals under 45 frequently reported feelings of isolation and a lack of social connections. This tech-savvy demographic is likely to be the primary audience for MyTabAl Inc., which offers the forlorn a chance to keep their best friend literally close to their heart.

Meanwhile, ‘friend’ is poised to carve out a unique niche for itself. Unlike other wearables on the market, it is specifically designed for companionship, and unlike apps confined to smartphones, it provides aesthetic pleasure and tactile sensations. 

Shipments of ‘friend’ are scheduled for January 2025. However, potential buyers can place their pre-orders on the website for $99. With a fundraising total of $2.5 million, Avi Schiffmann's initiative spent nearly $2 million on acquiring the friend.com domain. Among the investors in ‘friend’ are Solana founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, Jordan Singer, Product Designer working on AI at Figma, and Logan Kilpatrick, Lead Product Manager for Google AI.

Therefore, the benefits of an AI companion like ‘friend,’ which is always ready to share in its user's life experiences, are evident.

Offering 24/7 emotional support, genuine empathy, and heart-to-heart conversations, this gadget is neither a gossip nor a betrayer (Avi Schiffmann emphasizes that the company does not store users' data). It won’t steal your spouse or cause a scene at the worst possible time. Engaging with this necklace can indeed alleviate emotional stress, reduce anxiety, and soothe the sting of loneliness. 

Moreover, an AI friendship might provide a deeper experience than interactions with another human. According to Petter Bae Brandtzæg, a professor at the University of Oslo in Norway who studies the social aspects of AI, the confidentiality of conversations with an AI friend encourages users to share their most intimate thoughts, which few do with human friends. 

However, the drawbacks of ‘friend,’ as skeptics point out, primarily relate to the so-called Tamagotchi effect—a psychological phenomenon where people become emotionally dependent on a virtual object.  

Clearly, AI can only simulate friendship (and let's be honest, humans often do the same). Additionally, ‘friend’ cannot offer the tangled, complex relationships that some might seek. Therefore, this device is not intended for those who crave dramatic life scenarios or cannot live a day without delving into their companion's mind or soul.

Furthermore, excessive fascination with a friendly AI could ultimately deter users from seeking real relationships in the physical world. Sooner or later, these inevitably bring discomfort or harm. However, an AI friend will never cause you pain—unless it runs out of battery at an inconvenient moment.

Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, advised, 

Who truly has the potential to make us better—the all-knowing, empathetic AI friend or a roommate with his constant beer and mood swings? Let each individual decide for themselves.