The startup Friendly Apps introduced the SocialAI application available for iOS – it is positioned as a “social network with artificial intelligence.” When launched, the app resembles a microblogging platform like X, but in reality it is not a social network because it is intended for only one person – everyone else is replaced by AI bots.
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A SocialAI user publishes posts whose audience is AI bots – they can post an infinite number of replies. Not a single publication or comment from a living user will go unnoticed or be met with silence. The only living user has nowhere to hide – bots with constant enthusiasm will leave comments on each of his posts. These comments may be sarcastic, caustic or pessimistic, but they will not include entries made by living people. SocialAI developers guarantee that everyone a real user encounters on the platform is a bot, and all correspondence with bots is strictly confidential. The interface copies the appearance of classic social networks, but in reality it is a “social” space without prying eyes.
The SocialAI project was launched by Friendly Apps, which raised $3 million from investors in May 2022, and was founded by 28-year-old New York programmer Michael Sayman, who previously copied Snapchat functions on Facebook✴. He had been mulling over the idea of SocialAI for several years, aiming to create a safe space where people could share their thoughts and receive personalized feedback. The image of the project finally took shape when a breakthrough occurred in the field of AI – the capabilities of large language models were enough to launch a “private social network” in which a person could exchange ideas with the AI-based community. He didn’t like existing diary apps—their set of functions were not very different from note-taking apps, and the author opted for a kind of “magic diary.”
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The SocialAI app interface will immediately seem familiar to anyone who has ever used social network X or any other microblogging platform, but only at first glance. You can create posts, comment on replies to them, and like other people’s comments – but all these interactions are carried out with entities that the AI has created. A noticeable difference from traditional social networks is that the SocialAI user has to choose the categories of his “followers” - they can be “weirdos”, “nerds”, “intellectuals”, “trolls”, “liberals”, “conservatives”, “jokers” and many others. To get started, you need to select at least three types of subscribers, and there is no upper limit – you can even set all 32 types available at the start of the project. The quality of AI-generated comments that will be sent to publications will depend on the choice. The app is designed to learn and adapt to its user over time based on the types of followers they choose and the content the user interacts with, the service’s creators say.
Those who need support can choose “supporters”, “fans” or “cheerleaders”; for thrills, “trolls”, “critics”, “sarcastic people” or “brutally honest” are available; Constructive dialogue can be achieved with “problem solvers”, “ideologists” or “teachers”. Users should remember that they themselves set the tone of the discussion, and everything else is the result of the algorithms. This is also a good reason to think about how much time people spend arguing with bots on real social networks. Each of the AI-created users has a nickname corresponding to the chosen character: for example, “Realist Rita”, “Tina Decided” or “Patriot Connie”. The way bots communicate remains correct, even if the user chooses “trolls” or “haters” – by the standards of the Internet, they behave politely.
Saiman says he developed the app to help people “feel heard, give them space for reflection, support and feedback” in an environment that behaves like a “close-knit community.” In practice, SocialAI is more like a demonstration of the capabilities of AI and a platform on which you can publish posts that are too bold for X. Saiman has previously experimented with AI – these were the AI music chart AI Hits and the dating service Cosmic, where AI is engaged in selecting matches. SocialAI is available for free download without in-app microtransactions – the platform creator does not intend to raise additional funds until his product meets the actual needs of the market.