Are AI companions replacing real friends?

Before we dive into today’s post, some big news: Google recently launched a new AI tool, and I’m excited for Techno Sapiens to be featured!

Here’s the deal. Google has a popular AI product called NotebookLM, which acts as a personalized “research assistant.” You can upload materials (e.g., websites, videos, documents), and NotebookLM helps you understand them through summaries, guides, and (very cool!) AI-generated podcasts that always cite the original sources.

Last week, NotebookLM introduced “Featured Notebooks.” Rather than uploading your own sources into these notebooks, they are pre-populated with expert-curated collections of knowledge on a range of topics. The eight Notebooks featured in the launch include work from: The Atlantic, The Economist, , The Complete Works of Shakespeare, and [can you believe it?!] Techno Sapiens!

Besides being totally honored to be included in this group,12 I’m excited to share this as a new resource for all of you. Within our notebook, you can interact in new ways with posts that originally appeared here on Techno Sapiens. Ask for advice, read summaries and guides, and listen to a podcast-style audio overview—a great application of AI, in my opinion!

For the full backstory on Featured Notebooks, check out this post from .

And to test out the Techno Sapiens notebook for yourself, click here.

6 min read

When it comes to kids and tech, few things surprise me anymore.

So, I’m happy to report that a new research report from Common Sense Media has done the impossible! Their new data on teens’ use of “AI companions” came out last week. I, in turn, spent the week3 citing the (surprising) stats to anyone who would listen.

You may recall from our prior discussions of AI that the current research is…sparse. We know little about whether and how young people are using AI and how it’s impacting them, so this data is novel and important.

Let’s get into it!

Give me the details

• 1,060 teens (ages 13 to 17) filled out an online survey in April and May 2025

• The sample was nationally-representative, meaning it resembled the population of the U.S.

• Survey questions asked about whether and how the teens use “AI companions”

To me, the results of the survey hinge almost entirely on the definition teens were given for “AI companions,” so I’m including the whole thing here, verbatim.4

[If you are less