We finally did it! We have blurred the line so heavily between "actual technology advertisement" and "satirical commentary on a dystopian future" that it's impossible to tell the difference! Watch this product reveal commercial for the new Friend device and tell me you are positive it's a real thing. The device itself is always-on, listening for your surroundings and allows you to speak directly to it. The responses will be texted to you from your virtual friend.

The video was created by Sandwich, so it's incredibly well made and quite believable. I've pored over the website and the sparse socials and I'm still not convinced it's not a teaser for a new season of Black Mirror.

Assuming this isn't revealed to be a promo campaign, it does seem like an inevitable future. The Rabbit R1 and the Humane AI Pin covered the exact same ground. Personally, I don't think we're ready for specific hardware that does this and provides any sort of actual value. Yet. Could I see a version of this in ten years that works like a Babel Fish? Yea, I totally can. I also can't completely hate on the idea of having a digital friend or personal assistant or whatever you choose to call it. Here in 2024 it feels out of place to have such a close digital companion but I can't imagine that will be true forever.

I regularly remind myself that the future is slippery. Technology changes both extremely quickly and very slowly. Social norms can shift in the blink of an eye (remember when wearing Bluetooth headphones in public was mocked and now it's not even something you notice?). I don't love this particular product for myself but I am fascinated by the development of these kinds of products. Looking forward to seeing how they continue to market this (and won't be too surprised when I find out Charlie Brooker is involved).