While riding the New York City subway recently, I noticed something more disturbing than the typical knife-wielding schizophrenic or semiconscious drug addict. As usual, the walls of the train car were lined with advertisements. But unlike the garish promotions for clothing brands and constipation relief that usually haunt passengers, these posters were all the same clinical shade of metallic white.
The striking lack of color was a very appropriate choice for the product on display: the Friend pendant, an AI-powered necklace designed to serve as a portable companion for its wearer. Created by Avi Schiffmann, a Harvard dropout turned tech entrepreneur, the device listens to its user through a microphone and communicates via text messages and notifications. “Your new roommate is waiting,” reads a sinister promise on the company’s website.
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