How AI Can Help With the Loneliness Epidemic

AI can’t solve an inherently social problem — but it can contribute positively

Credit: Midjourney

Welcome back! As one year ends and another begins, it’s time to restart my writing habit with another essay on the future of AI. Today we’re exploring a timely topic: loneliness.

I’m lucky. For me, Christmas is a time of exciting anticipation. These two weeks, my days have been filled with family plans, meetings with friends, laughs, and good food — my definition of quality time. I have people around that I love and who love me and Christmas is always the perfect excuse to spend more time together.

But, while I was warming up my idea generation machine the other day, a realization struck me: The wholesomeness that permeates through my experience of Christmas isn’t by any means universal. Whereas these are times of happiness and belonging for me, other people feel the exact opposite — the asphyxiating presence that’s always lurking in the back of their minds leaves its burrow to make all the more evident the empty void of a lonely life.

This article is a dedication to those people. Let’s find out how AI may play a positive role to help reduce this silent epidemic of our modern times, and where it’s better that we rely on human-centered approaches.