Summary: The Friend AI pendant, a $129 chatbot necklace launched in 2023, has stirred quite a reaction in New York City. Its subway ad campaign, which cost over $1 million, has drawn both curiosity and criticism. Recently, a spontaneous protest took place where New Yorkers defaced ads and chanted against AI replacing real friendships. Friend’s founder Avi Schiffmann attended the event, describing it as a meaningful conversation rather than just a protest.
A Controversial Subway Campaign
If you’ve been in the NYC subway system lately, you’ve probably noticed the Friend AI pendant ads everywhere — from subway cars to tunnel walls. The device, designed to listen to your conversations and offer quips and feedback, has sparked mixed reviews. Many find it uncomfortable or ineffective at its intended purpose.
Friend, founded in 2023, only began shipping these $129 chatbot-enabled necklaces this summer. The accompanying subway ad campaign, which launched last month, reportedly cost the company more than $1 million, nearly as much as the price of its domain name.
The Friend Protest: What Happened?
Coinciding with the worldwide No Kings protests, a “Friend protest” unfolded in NYC. Avi Schiffmann, the founder, shared an image of a taped-up flyer featuring the device with a message: “I heard you New Yorkers got beef with me. Let’s hash this out once and for all, before we go bankrupt.” The flyer included details for a meetup and encouraged attendees to “bring your markers.”
Photos and videos from the event show people using Sharpies to deface a Friend banner, drawing a sad-faced version of the device in chalk, and even playing basketball while holding a cardboard cutout of the pendant. The crowd chanted slogans like “Get real friends” and “Fuck AI” as they tore apart the cutouts.
Founder Avi Schiffmann’s Response
When asked if Friend organized the protest or if attendees were genuine, Schiffmann told The Verge that he did not plan the event. However, he flew to New York after seeing photos of the ads and joined the gathering. He described speaking to the crowd from a soapbox and later sharing a serious conversation with attendees in a park, ending with handshakes. “It was a real protest for sure,” he said.
Schiffmann also posted a photo of a handwritten document in which he pledged not to sell friend.com to Big Tech CEOs for “surveillance purposes.”
New Yorkers Voice Their Opinions
The protest highlighted New Yorkers’ resistance to aggressive subway advertising, especially when it promotes AI as a substitute for genuine human connection. Despite the backlash, Schiffmann sees the attention as preferable to being ignored altogether.
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