Mark Zuckerberg says people can fill the need for friends with AI, but ‘there is no replacement’ for human relationships, psychologist says

In an April interview on the Dwarkesh Podcast, founder and CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg discussed the opportunity presented by AI relationships.

The average American has “three people that they would consider friends,” he said. “And the average person has demand for meaningfully more. I think it’s, like, 15.”

Psychologists refute the idea of the “right” number of friends. For most people, having three or four close friends is “more than enough,” says Omri Gillath, professor of psychology at the…