SocialAI makes you the most important – and only – person on social media
Ever felt like your social media posts are only getting interactions from bots? Well, the new SocialAI app aims to turn that flaw into a feature. The company just launched its mobile app, where every user connects only to AI chatbots. To be fair, the bots aren’t spam, they’re designed to interact with what you’re saying, understand context, respond appropriately, and keep you interested.
SocialAI describes itself as a kind of virtual world of conversation where millions of different AI chatbots with a range of personalities respond directly to your posts and messages. If you’re bothered by not getting any responses to your social media posts, SocialAI promises that every post gets a response and is only seen and responded to by AI chatbots. Responses include advice and direct answers from “Practical Patty,” challenges to your ideas from “Debate Diva,” and philosophical speculations from “Elena Bookworm.”
The idea is that SocialAI simulates an environment where you can get all sorts of reactions to your posts. This could be to practice posting where other people can see it, or just to express yourself in a kind of interactive journal with a community where you don’t have to worry about who’s going to judge you too harshly. SocialAI was built by Michael Sayman, formerly of Meta, Google, and Roblox. Sayman is known in the tech world for publishing a successful mobile app game at the age of 13 and later helping to develop Instagram Stories and Google Assistant.
“SocialAI is more than just a project for me – it’s the culmination of everything I’ve been thinking, obsessing over, and dreaming about for years. I’ve always wanted to create something that not only shows what’s possible with technology, but also helps people in a real, tangible way,” Sayman wrote in a post on X. “SocialAI is designed to help people feel heard, and to give them a space for reflection, support, and feedback that functions as a close-knit community.”
Social without socializing
Playing with SocialAI is fun, but it also feels a bit like practicing a speech in front of a mirror or getting a lot of likes on a post only to realize it’s just your parents and their friends. The personalities are a bit too one-dimensional to really get lost in an illusion of real life, although it’s nice not to have trolls trying to hurt you. Even Elena Bookworm wondered if I wouldn’t improve myself by talking to people about my posts, since the bots couldn’t offer anything truly innovative, and then suggested that I take the risk that my personality would reflect the AI instead of the other way around.
I don’t underestimate the value of AI chatbots in tackling loneliness, as many studies have shown them to be effective in that regard. SocialAI could be a great sounding board or place to vent, and I can see the appeal. But even a one-on-one conversation with an AI chatbot doesn’t feel like entering a social uncanny valley the way posting on an AI-only social media platform did. Plus, overreliance on AI interactions could lead to self-isolation that’s worse than what came before. And an emotional connection to AI in the long run might not be the healthiest choice. Still, SocialAI could be a real boon for those who can balance their social lives just right.
“This app is a little piece of me – my frustrations, my ambitions, my hopes, and everything I believe in. It’s a response to all the times I’ve felt isolated, or needed a sounding board but didn’t have one,” Sayman wrote. “I know this app won’t solve all of life’s problems, but I hope it can be a small tool for others to reflect, grow, and feel seen.”