I think that’s more than a fair point. AI is a tool, and I’m personally (tentatively) optimistic about what it will be capable of helping us with.

I think the distinction to be made in this case is when the use of a tool undermines the desired experience without us realizing it.

Like “I want to enjoy playing this game.” > (uses cheats for a little bit) > “Now I don’t enjoy playing it normally anymore.”

Or “I want to be able to think critically.” > (consults AI for everything) > “Now I have a hard time reasoning on my own.”

I’m not quite sure how structured it is or how far it goes, but I read that the romance-able ones will at least get more affectionate and change into skimpier clothes. It sounds ridiculous, but I think this is just the beginning of this type of stuff. I remember seeing a clip of a man who had “fallen in love with” and “proposed” to his chatGPT girlfriend.

There are also already dedicated subreddits where people are building “boyfriends/girlfriends” with LLMs and getting attached.

Soulslikes are great if you’re looking to scratch an itch for mechanical mastery, discovery, exploration, etc., but stories are not their strong suit. I’m not saying the stories are bad, just the delivery of them, unless you’re the type of player who wants to play detective.

I haven’t used it, but my understanding is that it’s just an animated character for interacting with the Grok AI, except it’s flirty and has “relationship building” mechanics… Probably not the little animal guy though, I hope.

Maybe they were just too early, because apparently search tool “companions” are a thing now.

I was about to make a joke like “Warning, the tour has gotten much longer in the last 2 decades”, but then I realized that the internet has consolidated so much that I’m not sure if that’s even true.

I need to find one that has this!

Taking one of my young kids to the grocery store feels like I’m escorting a little celebrity.

It was one of many search engines from before google became the default, yes.

It’s impossible not to!

Always!

Some stadiums have this too. It’s not for me.

“Those two sure look like they’re having a good time, huh?”

Oh god, this is painful.

Same. I watched a few reviews of it, and it also seems significantly smaller than I expected too.

They were the one thing holding society together.

Whoops, just realized that it doesn’t say in the image.

It’s the New Zealand School of Music. Added that to the title now for clarity.