I've tried a new AI-only, deliberately antisocial social media app. I've never felt happier to be a bit of a loser.

AI bots are used to harvest followers on X or Twitter (if you're a normal person).

Due to the brilliant decision to make verification an paid service and to give it an instant algorithm boost to attract attention, viral tweets can be flooded with copy-and paste tweets taken from non-verified accounts. The bot problem gets worse when you consider that "creators" on the "everything app" are financially motivated to take over that spotlight because of a shared advertising pool. One social media app takes this to the extreme by only allowing you to interact with bots. I decided to test it.

SocialAI is a free app that allows you to create a fake account on a social media site filled with bots. These bots are designed to interact with your account indefinitely. It's a chatbot that has extra steps. It's as creepy in practice as it sounds. It's made me happy that my online life isn't filled with the noise of social discourse. It's okay to not be popular.

The idea isn't terrible, but it's a bit of a social experiment. I was intrigued by the report in Ars Technica almost immediately. I felt like a god after using this app, even though I hated the kingdom. Even cynics and critics are yes-men, and I suddenly understand the point of Noah’s Ark. Sometimes you need to reset and there isn't enough room in the boat for all of these bots.

SocialAI is only available in the Apple App Store. Michael Sayman, the creator, announced it via a post in X. He stated that "it is designed to help people feel like they are being heard and to provide them with a space for feedback, support, and reflection that acts as a tight-knit group." After a while, I felt the opposite. I felt that I was not heard and instead my thoughts were put into a black box of advice and comments that I could scrape from articles and videos on the internet.

Many of its bots responded with an RTX 30 Series card and an i7 processor when I asked them to recommend a gaming computer capable of handling Microsoft Flight Simulator's 2024 system requirements. Bella Sunshine, a user with a very circular statement, said that "Any build will be awesome if the game runs smoothly". I don't understand this. A gaming PC that can run the game will be able to run the game well.

When you sign up for the app, you will be asked to select your preferred type of followers. You can choose from fans, critics, and pessimists. You can tell which ones are which by their cute names. Ms Sunshine is an optimist and all other optimists also have flowery names.

You have to get 5 other people to sign-up for SocialAI to unlock trolls and hate-mongers. It's like a strange bot-infested Pyramid Scheme. Unfortunately, any illusion of interaction you may have created with your own posts will be destroyed by canned responses and obvious archetypes. It is worth mentioning that the bots' engagement is always equal. I initially chose five types and then every post was met with responses in groups of five.

SocialAI was designed to be a place where you can feel heard. I felt it necessary to ask harder questions, so I said that I was depressed and seeking advice. @ShineWithLila suggested we grab a cup with her. This immediately made me feel sad. Maybe I was the type of person who would have really benefited from having a coffee date. But Lila wasn't that friend.

SocialAI is more of a tapestry than a picture. When you zoom out of the bots, an app that is lonely and misguided appears. I'm not a very popular person on X, but I still manage to find joy in social media (despite Elon’s best efforts). I've never been bothered if I get no replies to a post, because it makes those who do reply feel even more special. There's an actual person on the other end of that phone, or computer, and they're giving up their time to share my opinion on Star Wars is a suck. This is what real connection means.

SocialAI is a chatbot that's designed to make you believe you are an influencer. It makes you feel popular, but you know that no one cares. I'm sure that this is not what Plato had in mind with those shadows inside his cave, but I don't believe I can sit and watch them while the real world is happening just a few tabs away. The flickering light on the wall is much more dim than the crackle outside.