Why I’m Paying Attention to AI Companions
A re-share of my After Babel article on AI companions, co-published with Jonathan Haidt and Zach Rausch
Earlier this month, I published a piece with Jonathan Haidt and Zach Rausch on their After Babel blog. It’s about something that’s been quietly gaining traction — AI companions. These are chatbots designed to simulate friendship, intimacy, and emotional support.
The technology is powerful, but the implications are bigger than the tech. This is a parenting issue, a learning issue, and a cultural one. The same design choices that keep us scrolling can now be aimed at creating “relationships,” and those relationships can influence how young people see themselves and the world.
Jonathan and Zach’s work has shaped how I think about childhood, technology, and connection. Jonathan’s book, The Anxious Generation, changed how I approach parenting. I first read it when my kids’ school organized a book club, and it’s been a touchstone ever since.
As I build a company in the AI and learning space focused on adolescents, I’ve been diving deep into how technology is shaping child development, motivation, and learning. This piece was a chance to bring that lens to an emerging category of AI that I think deserves far more public conversation.
You can read the full post on After Babel here: First We Gave AI Our Tasks. Now We’re Giving It Our Hearts.
If you’re a parent, educator, policymaker, or working in AI, I hope it sparks reflection, and ideally some real-world conversations, about the role we want AI to play in our relationships.