One company is proposing a solution for loneliness.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with the point.

Replica is an AI chatbot created for anyone who wants a friend with no judgment,

drama, or social anxiety.

The company makes audacious claims, feeling down, anxious, having trouble getting to sleep,

managing negative emotions?

Ask the website, well, Replica can help.

Presumably, this is by filling a relational

void, giving you a virtual friend, mentor, boyfriend, or girlfriend, whatever the user wants.

Now, if you think this is both weird and problematic, you're right. Replica promises the loneliest

generation on record a technological solution for a problem that only people can answer.

It's a gimmick now, but what happens when the technology is perfected?

What pornography is to lust, replica could easily become to loneliness.

And like pornography, it will never solve the underlying problem.

People are hurting, longing for a better answer.

And there is one.

Real friendship always exposes us to the risk of social anxiety, drama, or judgment,

but it's worth it.

And the church has a chance to model the real thing

and ultimately point people to Jesus, the real answer for their loneliness.

That way, they'll never be fooled by a replica.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with The Point.

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