Vandals Deface Subway Ads for AI "Friend" Necklace Amid Privacy and Loneliness Concerns
Key Points
- AI "Friend" necklace advertised on New York subway stations.
- Critics label the device as surveillance capitalism and a loneliness exploit.
- Harvard survey links technology to increased loneliness among adults 30‑44.
- Founder Schiffman defends the pendant as a supplement to human relationships.
- Only 3,100 units sold, indicating modest market uptake.
- Outfront Media VP highlights AI as a major 2025 conversation.
- Activists created a website to digitally vandalize the ads.
- Over 6,000 vandalized ad submissions posted, ranging from humor to warnings.
- Concerns raised about mental‑health risks of AI companions.
A campaign promoting the AI‑powered "Friend" necklace on New York subway stations has sparked intense backlash. Critics argue the device exemplifies surveillance capitalism and exploits a growing loneliness epidemic, citing a Harvard study that links technology to increased isolation among adults aged 30‑44. Founder Schiffman defends the product as a supplement to human relationships, emphasizing its potential to boost emotional intelligence. Sales remain modest, with only a few thousand units sold. In response, activists created a website allowing users to digitally vandalize the ads, posting thousands of altered images that range from humor to stark warnings about mental‑health risks.
Backlash Over Surveillance and Loneliness
The AI‑enabled "Friend" pendant, marketed as a personal companion that listens to every conversation, has become the focus of a growing controversy. Critics accuse the product of embodying surveillance capitalism, arguing that the device’s constant listening capability threatens user privacy. At the same time, they contend that the pendant preys on a societal loneliness epidemic. A survey conducted by Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Making Caring Common found that adults between 30 and 44 years of age were the loneliest demographic, and 73 percent of those surveyed identified technology as a contributor to that loneliness.
Founder’s Defense and Limited Sales
Schiffman, the founder of the company behind the "Friend" necklace, rejects the criticisms. He tells reporters that the pendant is designed to supplement, not replace, human friendships and aims to raise the average emotional intelligence of its users significantly. He characterizes the technology as neither dystopian nor a threat, describing it as a new category of companionship that can coexist alongside traditional friends, pets, and family members. Outfront Media, the firm that manages the subway advertising, has a vice president, Victoria Mottesheard, who notes that AI "is the conversation of 2025," underscoring the campaign’s alignment with contemporary tech discourse.
Despite the high‑profile advertising push, sales have been modest. Only 3,100 units have been sold to date, a figure the founder acknowledges as an indication that society may not yet be ready for AI companions on such a large scale. He hopes the advertising campaign will help normalize the technology over time.
Online Vandalism Campaign
In reaction to the ads, a group of activists launched a website that lets anyone digitally deface the "Friend" advertisements and share their creations online. The site has collected close to 6,000 submissions, offering a “carousel” view that lets visitors ride a virtual train through the vandalized images. Some alterations are humorous, such as changing the word "Friend" to "Fries" and adding a cartoon illustration of fast‑food fries, or turning the ad into a promotion for fried chicken. Other submissions carry more serious messages, drawing arrows toward the word "end" in the brand name and replacing the pendant with a cry‑face emoji to highlight concerns about the mental‑health risks associated with AI companions. These concerns echo broader debates about the potential for AI tools like Character.AI and ChatGPT to contribute to emotional distress, a topic that has already prompted lawsuits and a Senate hearing.
The combined effect of public criticism, modest sales, and the viral vandalism effort illustrates the complex environment in which emerging AI consumer products must navigate. While the company's leadership frames the "Friend" pendant as a benign, emotion‑enhancing tool, a sizable segment of the public remains wary of its privacy implications and its role in a society already grappling with technology‑induced loneliness.