The Therapist, 1937 - Rene Magritte Welcome to Signed, A Friend, an occasional exploration of friendship, loneliness and what holds us together.Quick notesWe’ve gotten comfortable with AI assistants helping us write emails and debug code. But what happens when AI starts doing the messy, exhausting work of managing our emotions, the kind of labor we usually reserve for therapists, friends and partners? The numbers are staggering: Character.AI users spend an average of more than two hours daily...

The Therapist, 1937 - Rene Magritte Welcome to Signed, A Friend, an occasional exploration of friendship, loneliness and what holds us together.Quick notesWe’ve gotten comfortable with AI assistants helping us write emails and debug code. But what happens when AI starts doing the messy, exhausting work of managing our emotions, the kind of labor we usually reserve for therapists, friends and partners? The numbers are staggering: Character.AI users spend an average of more than two hours daily...