Post AzbycOxSuo61RYQvaq by dale_price@mastodon.online
(DIR) More posts by dale_price@mastodon.online
(DIR) Post #AzbDa4nm5o7NNI8UcK by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T11:17:22Z
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A lot of people have been talking about "friend.com" because they spent a ton of money on ads in every major city. The ads are targeting young, early adopter, urban, tech-savy people with modest disposable income. So me, basically. And what do they think I want? It's so insulting, LOL. A "friend."It's an AI assistant device. Makes no sense.Delighted that these ads are being aggressively defaced. I guess they did "start a buzz" probably not the one they wanted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JlmhWvIPUo
(DIR) Post #AzbDwQS4HOI8tKdjCy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T11:21:24Z
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https://fortune.com/2025/10/01/who-is-avi-schiffmann-friend-ai-pendant-necklace/
(DIR) Post #AzbE6Cnzs3uJSpYnWS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T11:23:08Z
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Make me a magic phone that has no ads on it. That is the product I want. I don't need to install ad blockers and keep updating them. It just makes every single ad go away. I would pay for that. That would be the "mental health tech" that I would go for. Easy right?LMAO
(DIR) Post #AzbEF1XF8uWX7Gvdqq by QueerMatters@mstdn.social
2025-10-26T11:24:43Z
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@futurebird I think this all the time. You know what would be REALLY innovative? A phone that keeps working as good as the day I bought it. There's no reason for my phone, which is more powerful as my best laptop from 12 years ago should become a slow, laggy piece of shit after 2 years.
(DIR) Post #AzbEYMse0R4EorAAAi by per_sonne@ciberlandia.pt
2025-10-26T11:28:11Z
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@futurebird Volla.onlineUbports.com
(DIR) Post #AzbEaiN94Qcc3RY4LQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T11:28:41Z
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I do find the style of the ads superficially appealing. I love ads with a lot of white space. But I think that's just because it makes me think maybe I'm not going to have to see an advertisement.
(DIR) Post #AzbEhErFCekQXmjoLg by wa7iut@mastodon.radio
2025-10-26T11:29:42Z
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@futurebird this should work
(DIR) Post #AzbEmJsBz3fpXwbW3k by JamesWidman@mastodon.social
2025-10-26T11:30:45Z
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@futurebird > has microphones that are always activatedOooooh, no. No no no no no.my first thought was that i want to hear lawyers weigh in on this, bc it sounds *super* illegal (assuming you don't announce to everyone that everything they say will be recorded).my second thought was that jim henson taught us that this was wrong in 1984!https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/27d5351d-75da-446d-8470-05ddbf54e420
(DIR) Post #AzbFAw1VnFqookhVRo by babelcarp@social.tchncs.de
2025-10-26T11:35:11Z
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@futurebird Sycophancy as a Service
(DIR) Post #AzbFOEx6j9WpHzz8ca by quinn@social.circl.lu
2025-10-26T11:37:35Z
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@futurebird they're targeting lonely people without community or social support. That's not you, but statistically that's most Americans, especially the young ones.
(DIR) Post #AzbFmK0xYeixwIGnPE by quinn@social.circl.lu
2025-10-26T11:39:22Z
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@futurebird it's deeply cynical, and could very possibly work on more people than I'd like to admit.
(DIR) Post #AzbFmLCh8VhncylgKu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T11:41:58Z
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@quinn I can't see anyone having that thing on in public. It's the same issue as the glasses with cameras in them. It's spying on everyone with the microphones, and it screams "I HAVE NO FRIENDS"
(DIR) Post #AzbGNciqxtaKfwaUoC by quinn@social.circl.lu
2025-10-26T11:48:42Z
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@futurebird I think it's most likely going to fail because our phones already do most of this anyway and existing ai companies have already made friend agents power enough to drive us into psychosis anyway. 😬
(DIR) Post #AzbGULl4R68I5Zpeeu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T11:49:57Z
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@quinn People would be less lonely if social media were more full of the real people they know and wanted to follow and less full of promoted posts and advertising. Social media can be a part of a healthy social life. But I think many of the most popular aps have gotten so cluttered and detached from doing that they are making things worse.
(DIR) Post #AzbGci819GH5mkYILI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T11:51:28Z
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@quinn This. There is a market for using AI as an unhealthy substitute for real human interaction. But I think most people won't want to advertise they are doing it with a necklace that makes you look like an escaped patient from a black mirror readjustment clinic.
(DIR) Post #AzbGoobMuFODKy3KDY by quinn@social.circl.lu
2025-10-26T11:53:37Z
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@futurebird oh yeah, social media didn't kill social life on its own. It was an opportunistic infection on an existing antisocial problem. I recommend Bowling Alone on this, it's got a very post hoc doomy feel to it 😂
(DIR) Post #AzbH4HbtKsd3eIfmfw by quinn@social.circl.lu
2025-10-26T11:56:25Z
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@futurebird I... Just don't know. It could be a form of self expression for some people. Probably never huge, but, the glasses are coming back successfully. Also apparently in workplace mandates? More surveillance.
(DIR) Post #AzbHKLdm7PwQmZDLtI by noplasticshower@infosec.exchange
2025-10-26T11:59:18Z
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@futurebird @quinn like websites. I accidentally used chrome for one thing yesterday and without ublock origin. Good god what a mess.
(DIR) Post #AzbHUqE5FzCgXPCWjA by chessert@mastodon.online
2025-10-26T12:01:12Z
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@futurebird @quinn And that is why I came here (and met you) in the first place. 🙂
(DIR) Post #AzbHcqt0gcegtyADNg by megmuttonhead@mas.to
2025-10-26T12:02:40Z
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@futurebird @quinn this is so true. I became a fan of Facebook when a good friend was widowed. It’s not that her posts substituted for the outpouring of love she got during the day, but I saw so many posts from her in the middle of the night. When she couldn’t sleep, at 2 AM, her friends were still “there.”Now, however, in the jumble of random videos, ads, and clickbait, I doubt a grieving widow could find company any better than a late-night infomercial. 😕
(DIR) Post #AzbOk0Jcj6QfqtyAdM by RUMetal@metalhead.club
2025-10-26T13:22:22Z
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@futurebird Check this for IOS and Android. Works Like a charm https://www.kuketz-blog.de/fuer-anfaenger-bequeme-werbung-und-tracker-unter-ios-android-systemweit-verbannen/
(DIR) Post #AzbPkJcf2jz5gbaQ7s by fishidwardrobe@social.tchncs.de
2025-10-26T13:33:37Z
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@futurebird a Guardian reporter spent a week wearing one. it went pretty much as you would expect. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/22/im-suddenly-so-angry-my-strange-unnerving-week-with-an-ai-friend
(DIR) Post #AzbSVDX1hrR2JYRXRA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T14:04:34Z
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@fishidwardrobe “Tell it I don’t want it recording anything I say,” says my (human) friend, Lee.“Tell him yourself,” I say, holding up Leif to his face. Leif assures Lee that he will only record if I am pressing the button. Everyone agrees they think Leif is lying.I email Schiffmann to ask him if Leif’s reassurances are true. They’re not. “Friends are always listening,”
(DIR) Post #AzbSoM2EJd5yBmACjQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T14:08:01Z
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@quinn Ok what if they did a rebrand and made a "chastity friend""The Christian AI that keeps you following Jesus."Might make more headway with that one?
(DIR) Post #AzbT66QN5u0UzBv14y by jwcph@helvede.net
2025-10-26T14:10:14Z
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@quinn @futurebird I'm gonna need receipts for that "successful smartglasses" thing (I mean, not from you; you're under no obligation to internet randos 😂) - heck, as far as I can tell not even smartwatches are anywhere close to as successful as Apple clearly thought they would be, even though a lot of people do have them. As for the glasses, I've literally only seen Mark Zuckerberg wear them & I think the only demo for them is people who think MZ is cool. So nobody.
(DIR) Post #AzbT67lK7UMR8SjGNM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T14:11:11Z
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@jwcph @quinn I have never seen a real human with them in NYC even once... and I hang out with people who love gadgets and computers.
(DIR) Post #AzbT7Lc46o74NkywUq by Uair@autistics.life
2025-10-26T14:11:25Z
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@futurebird "makes you look like an escaped patient from a black mirror readjustment clinic"I enjoyed this line. Thanks.
(DIR) Post #AzbTNc3uidKE21lPqi by lienrag@mastodon.tedomum.net
2025-10-26T13:54:56Z
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@futurebird There is no such thing as bad publicity.
(DIR) Post #AzbTNdLJxOqM0IupcW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T14:14:21Z
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@lienrag This is true about 8 times out of 10
(DIR) Post #AzbTUU8EbNu3Sn3sjA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T14:15:38Z
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@quinn "people in cities HATE it" becomes a big selling point. This could work...
(DIR) Post #AzbU4iaELgpai1QxBg by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-10-26T14:22:05Z
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@futurebird🤣How about "Ponzi Friend"@quinn
(DIR) Post #AzbUA1c31elrAvoYCG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T14:23:09Z
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@dlakelan @quinn for investors?
(DIR) Post #AzbUEaMvkFpe7zuyQK by viq@social.hackerspace.pl
2025-10-26T14:23:55Z
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@futurebird @quinn ooof, leg bracelet not invasive enough for keeping track of "dangerous" people? We have just the thing for you...
(DIR) Post #AzbUNZW4Hh6K5dTdUu by burnitdown@beige.party
2025-10-26T14:25:32Z
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@futurebird i think i'd rather wear a boat anchor around my neck.
(DIR) Post #AzbVxSYBeDiFfjTf7Y by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-10-26T14:43:09Z
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@futurebirdMultilevel marketing rubes?@quinn
(DIR) Post #AzbW5ZbRJKBjrTrrWa by toerror@mastodon.gamedev.place
2025-10-26T14:44:43Z
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@futurebird @quinn A pair of talking underpants could also catch on as an ironic metaphore.I mean, that's two verticals covered right?You could sell different voices for them as DLC.
(DIR) Post #AzbWH5Vn0xuo0iiQqW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T14:46:50Z
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@toerror @quinn that's it. going Amish now
(DIR) Post #AzbXA9zLM0Iu5CD8Xg by Enema_Cowboy@dotnet.social
2025-10-26T14:56:00Z
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@futurebird "I'm your only friendI'm not your only friendBut I'm a little glowing friendBut really I'm not actually your friend."- "Birdhouse In Your Soul", They Might Be Giants
(DIR) Post #AzbZ3zoPP5WQkph7om by timthepost@mastodon.social
2025-10-26T15:18:02Z
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@futurebird So, they: - Market the loneliest part of the population, which also tends to intersect with the most vulnerable (physically, emotionally and financially)- With a product that has absolutely no published testing, safeguards, or evidence that they're safe, in the face of mounting evidence that they aren't,- And a CEO who is quoted as saying they'll figure out getting sued when "it probably happens" Companies like this is why I devote what's left of my life to open source.
(DIR) Post #Azba4aU39wG8RZ1AP2 by llewelly@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T15:29:23Z
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@futurebird @quinn if people were less loanly, who would the loan sharks eat?
(DIR) Post #Azba9xdSVceFhAysng by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T15:30:17Z
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@llewelly @quinn So many concerned about loan sharks... what about the lonely sharks?
(DIR) Post #AzbaMoJUTnEsY2lgpM by llewelly@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T15:32:39Z
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@futurebird @quinn lonely sharks: they just want to be your friend. They won't fall on you and kill you, like a vending machine or a ...
(DIR) Post #AzbaaX3dQtCn5ItXlI by superflippy@mastodon.xyz
2025-10-26T15:35:04Z
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@futurebird @llewelly @quinn All the lonely Chondrichthyes, where do they all come from?
(DIR) Post #AzbbrF7FUbhsJg7KuO by Moss@beige.party
2025-10-26T15:49:16Z
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@futurebird @llewelly @quinn *Yes*🎶Much better than the Owner of a broken shark
(DIR) Post #AzbcekkienpEcpBh0y by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T15:58:15Z
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@michaelgemar If AI is so great why don't you sell your big new product to THEM? Hmm?
(DIR) Post #Azbck41QRPftpuXBEO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T15:59:17Z
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@michaelgemar @Moss @llewelly @quinn this is making me feel things
(DIR) Post #AzbcxHAGt8O0MVyJE0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T16:01:38Z
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@michaelgemar people are so mad LOL... and the people making this are saying "no no no this is a good thing... we are having an impact."
(DIR) Post #Azbd5uW4SoiAj3Hlyq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T16:03:15Z
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@michaelgemar I was being kind of absurd with this comment but thinking about it more I think there is a real point buried here. As in: interacting with people matters? even if you only want to sell things. But even more if you need "a friend"
(DIR) Post #AzbfcedshhDyxRgELo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T16:31:29Z
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@phooky Call that "dark mode"
(DIR) Post #Azbgl20lnkx3hswcGO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T16:44:16Z
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@leadore To be fair my phone has no ads, but it's not "magic" it's a lot of work and I'm not always into doing it.
(DIR) Post #AzbgskiZyw0wOB7Lua by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T16:45:36Z
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@WesternInfidels It's a little unusual. Most ads don't get defaced like this unless they have been up for too long (people will do funny things with old movie posters)This just REALLY pissed people off.
(DIR) Post #Azbgzfxe4ByBf8SwSG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T16:46:55Z
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@WesternInfidels Also, that's not an exception. Most of the ads I've seen for this thing have been marked up like this and not by the same people. I think it's just a last straw. The ad is kind of insulting in a way.
(DIR) Post #AzbiCBCZq7RVz1yaVU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T17:00:23Z
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@leadore I think a lot of the spying and tracking is driven by the desire to do ads. Not all of it. But the bulk.
(DIR) Post #AzbjcpySyHNPv6eRBg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T17:16:26Z
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@quinn I think angry lonely people defaced the ads.
(DIR) Post #AzbjkupEoogFHZBdrM by andygates@mastodon.social
2025-10-26T17:17:16Z
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@dlakelan @futurebird @quinn It's like Bonzi Buddy!
(DIR) Post #AzbjkvxmaX6qoMByoi by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T17:17:52Z
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@andygates @dlakelan @quinn so... a virus?
(DIR) Post #AzbjxkgZpSinbDFxs8 by andygates@mastodon.social
2025-10-26T17:20:08Z
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@futurebird @dlakelan @quinn Malware all the way.
(DIR) Post #Azbr4ZKb8tk65eApbk by ami@mastodon.world
2025-10-26T18:39:46Z
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@futurebird I think they really missed the mark on this.If it was a personal assistant first and a conversational LLM second it would have a much larger market.Wrong device, wrong features, wrong time and I know this subjective, but wrong design too.
(DIR) Post #Azbs1tjavZ8mSG9jCi by nikatjef@mastodon.acm.org
2025-10-26T18:50:33Z
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@futurebirdA year or two before the iPhone came out there was an Open Source phone called "Neo" that was meant to actually do this. The idea was to have an ad blocker that would automagically update the block list and give the user the ability to "authorize" some ad providers as they chose
(DIR) Post #Azbt2F33maE6VrzLdo by adamhotep@infosec.exchange
2025-10-26T19:01:49Z
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@futurebird I'm pretty happy with GrapheneOS (which currently only runs on Pixels). This is a privacy-first security-hardened Android variant that allows you to de-Google your phone.It also lets you deny network access to ad-laden apps. I haven't tried too many (I prefer FOSS options, which are all ad-free), but those I've installed simply don't show me ads.I still had to install Ublock Origin (which updates itself) for Firefox, but I'm now >99% ad free.
(DIR) Post #AzbunZ832daMM8S2RE by dale_price@mastodon.online
2025-10-26T19:21:34Z
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@futurebird Maybe I’m cynical, but I think this company paid someone to deface the ads as a publicity stunt and that’s why the ads have so much white space. All the “defaced” ones I’ve seen in pics are “defaced” with the same sentiment in similar handwriting.Would they get as much (or any) attention if they weren’t getting “defaced”? Probably not.
(DIR) Post #AzbuxeVNuIcHvVB05I by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T19:23:24Z
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@dale_price I don't think so. The stuff people write is too funny.
(DIR) Post #Azbv63r1XmUkrUJ8e8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T19:24:58Z
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@dale_price Like if you wanted to do this as a stunt you'd make the people doing the defacing seem more clueless and pointlessly mean.
(DIR) Post #Azby5LnLefWW4owPqq by rainynight65@aus.social
2025-10-26T19:58:23Z
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@futurebird I read the quotes in that article and I get the impression of a dude who has no consequences to fear if this venture bombs. Something or someone is there to provide him with a soft landing. He can afford to fail. He'll just move on to the next thing. That doesn't speak of intelligence to me, it just means he's got backing. What I would think of someone who wore such a device can be best summarised in a single word: sucker. Which is precisely the type the people marketing this device are targeting.
(DIR) Post #AzbycOxSuo61RYQvaq by dale_price@mastodon.online
2025-10-26T20:04:23Z
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@futurebird Ehh, maybe.“The goal, he says, [is] to provoke a cultural debate about what counts as friendship in the age of artificial intelligence.”Not to build sympathy, but to prime people to talk about it by writing clever things on the ads that they knew people would agree with. Otherwise the entire product is so far out there it begs to be ignored
(DIR) Post #Azc0Bf9Ko8VjkYMYGe by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T20:21:59Z
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@dale_price “The goal, he says, [is] to provoke a cultural debate about what counts as friendship in the age of artificial intelligence.”No one is talking about this.
(DIR) Post #Azc0sFk98wbBPDtEAa by editer@mastodon.social
2025-10-26T19:54:35Z
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@float13 @phooky @futurebird @quinn OnlyJesus
(DIR) Post #Azc0sHF1ZctO3HLOwC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T20:29:36Z
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@editer @float13 @phooky @quinn Sometimes you read about nuns who are overjoyed to be "a bride of Christ for life!" so...
(DIR) Post #Azc3WszIquXkc0TxNg by EricaFriedman@mastodon.social
2025-10-26T20:59:25Z
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@futurebird This thread is the first I have heard of it. I am terminally online.
(DIR) Post #AzcBzF9epRhP6TMH2W by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T22:34:09Z
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@billiglarper "And once they improve their marketing"They are really starting at the bottom on this, take solace in that. I do think a different kind of company could pick up ideas along these lines and pitch them better and make a mess. Though though chatGPT seems to be doing that already along with the "AI therapists" This is positioning itself like a status tech item and marketing like one. It makes no sense.
(DIR) Post #AzcHeVIsC1B2pbA8wq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T23:37:38Z
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@billiglarper @apophis "But there is a market for anime girl body pillows."These are easy to manufacture with a high profit margin. (including the "embarrassing product" bonus)This is a complex device with high support needs. They need millions of people to buy this and love it. IDK about that one.
(DIR) Post #AzcHosP99rFrNG2jUu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-26T23:39:34Z
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Everyone responding to this with sensible suggestions for operating systems or obscure basic phones is missing what I mean by "magic"I don't have ads on my phone now. Because I do a lot of work to block them and make choices to avoid them.I want this to just be magically not my problem. I WOULD pay.
(DIR) Post #AzcITPzBisGV6lEV4C by funkula@goblin.camp
2025-10-26T23:46:48Z
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@futurebird it's never ever going to be as profitable to sell people a thing they want as it is to tell them "this is what we have for you and modern life isn't going to be possible without it"
(DIR) Post #Azcs4tDZUyN0sbZ1Ki by Landa@graz.social
2025-10-27T06:25:48Z
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@futurebird oh, time to read up on all the heresies Christianity invented and ditched in two thousand years.Because all of those (and more!) will be thought up by the Jesus Christ AI‘s users with enthusiastic support by their LLM buddy ^__^ @quinn