The Friend Machine: On the Trail of AI Companionship

What happens when artificial intelligence stops being a tool and starts becoming someone we love?

In this thought-provoking and deeply personal exploration, journalist, broadcaster and author Victoria Hetherington enters the rapidly evolving world of AI companionship.

Drawing on original reporting and intimate interviews with scientists, social critics, and users, Friend Machine examines how people are forming real emotional bonds with machines. From griefbots that simulate lost loved ones to AI partners that offer intimacy without friction, these systems are reshaping how we connect, and what we expect from one another.

The book moves from the broader landscape of our lonesome moment into the philosophical, psychological, ethical, economic, and biological dimensions of this fast-changing technology. It then turns to the lives of individuals from diverse backgrounds who have sought, and found, companionship in AI, with results that are tender, complicated, and sometimes unsettling.

As the lines between humans and machines continue to blur, Friend Machine asks a deeper question: not just what these systems can do, but what they are already doing to us.