One signal

UnHerd columnist Matthew Gasda argues that Meta’s Muse assistant could turn friendship into another task to delegate. His concern is not just whether the agent can book travel or remember birthdays, but whether outsourcing the effort of caring changes the relationships those gestures are meant to nurture.

Gasda says Muse can handle errands such as booking travel, shopping and scheduling appointments, and suggests Meta presents the time saved as a route back to real-world connection. He doubts that promise follows automatically: saved minutes can just as easily become more screen time. It’s a pointed opinion about agentic AI’s social consequences, not evidence that the assistant will make people lonelier.

Discuss: Would you happily delegate the chores around friendship, or is some of the effort the point?

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