10/12/2025

I Hate My AI Friend

The chatbot-enabled Friend necklace eavesdrops on your life and provides running commentary

The AI-powered Friend pendant is now out in the world. If you live in the United States or Canada, you can buy one for $129.

The smooth plastic disc is just under 2 inches in diameter; it looks and feels a little like a beefy Apple AirTag. Inside are some LEDs and a Bluetooth radio that connects you (through your iPhone) to a chatbot in the cloud that is powered by Google's Gemini 2.5 model. You can tap on the disc to ask your Friend questions as it dangles around your neck, and it responds to your voice prompts by sending you text messages through the companion app. You can reply to these messages with your voice or via text to keep the conversation going.

It also listens to whatever you're doing as you move through the world - no tap required - and offers a running commentary on the interactions you have throughout your day. To perform that trick, the device has microphones that are always activated.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.