Mark Zuckerberg says one day our friends will be AI chatbots

12 May 2025

Way back in 1979, a British new wave band called Tubeway Army asked the question: Are ‘Friends’ Electric. Note the band’s use of scare quotes around the word friend. Are they suggesting friends that are electric are not real friends? Listen to the song and see what you think.

Forty-six years later, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, believes the majority of people’s friends will soon be AI chatbots of some sort. These AI ‘friends’ might be okay to talk to, but there wouldn’t be much else you could do with them. For example, you couldn’t really go out to dinner together.

Zuckerberg thinks most Americans only have three friends — I wonder what the average friend count is for Facebook members? — but is pretty sure they would like more. He thinks fifteen is the optimal number. The way then to make-up the shortfall is to generate AI companions.

An AI ‘friend’ might be a bit like an imaginary friend who could think for themselves. The Facebook co-founder goes on to suggest therapists and business agents will also be AI chatbots. I’m not sure if chatbots would be ideal therapists, but as business agents they might work.