I recently teamed up with speaker business consultant, Maria Franzoni, to create a series of short Zoom interviews exploring the impact of AI, future trends, and the exciting opportunities ahead.

AI companions have come a long way, starting as sidekicks and now becoming full digital partners. Replika AI launched back in 2017 and really took off during the pandemic when people yearned for connection. Now, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management LLC predicts this industry could grow from a modest $30 million to as much as $150 billion a year by 2030 – that’s a 314% compound annual growth rate!

Then there’s the topic of grief. Many of us are familiar with the Kübler-Ross stages: 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. AI is stepping in, with “Deathbots” like HereAfter AI that let you have simple conversations with memories of loved ones who’ve passed away. But scientific journals like Springer Nature raise a question: 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣? Could we end up like Miss Havisham of Great Expectations, holding onto memories we should let go?

This debate is just getting started. I’ve chosen grief to make a point about AI’s impact on human emotional states, but who knows? In 2017, the University of California defined 27 distinct human emotions. By the way, grief would be described as a subset of sadness combined with loss.

AI companions could be a saviour for Alzheimer’s sufferers, yet they could just as easily erode some people’s ability to relate to others.