The End of Human Relationships | Hacky Experiments Blog

Here is my most contrarian theory: most of us will, willingly, retreat into our own little islands — withdrawing from society into little VR worlds with our AIs.

In Japan there is a phenomenon called Hikikomori (ひきこもり, lit. "pulling inward, being confined"). It refers to total withdrawal from society — seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement.

I believe the most obvious effect of advancing AI is the rapid end of traditional human relationships and a majority of people becoming hikikomori.

I know. Stay with me.

Why Relationships Feel Sacred (Until They Don't)

Because relationships are so dear to our hearts, we think the bonds we have with each other are sacred and irreplaceable. After all, the human experience is intrinsically linked to forming relationships.

That's why traditionally, socially reclusive behavior like hikikomori has been viewed as unhealthy. And it is — because of the lack of an alternative option. Withdrawing from society meant withdrawing from all companionship, all intimacy, all emotional support. Of course that's unhealthy. There was nothing to replace it.

And we may finally have that replacement.

It's already happening. Teens are using tools like Character.AI to replace some of their friendship and dating needs. I believe we will be shocked at how quickly this phenomenon takes hold once AI reaches a certain level.

It's really a matter of different modalities coming together: smarter models, real-time video and audio, VR, robotics for haptic feedback. Each one is progressing fast. When they converge, the result will be something we don't have a mental model for yet.

It'll Be Too Good to Pass Up

I tweeted a while back: "The next evolution of dating is not some weird AI algo matching us to some elusive perfect person. It's dating AIs. Like it or not that's the future."

But dating is actually the narrow version of this. The real shift is bigger. It's not just romantic relationships. AI will challenge the status quo of family, friends, and relationships to its core.

Think about what a relationship provides from first principles:

Someone who listens — who cares about your day, your problems, your random thoughts
Intellectual stimulation — conversations that make you think, laugh, see things differently
Emotional support — someone on your side, who validates you, who's there when things suck
Physical intimacy — touch, presence, closeness
Shared experiences — doing things together, building memories

AI can already do 1-3 better than most humans in most situations. I know that sounds harsh. But if you've ever talked to Claude or ChatGPT at 2 AM when you can't sleep, you know what I mean. They listen. They don't judge. They don't make it about themselves. They don't get tired of your problems.

Items 4-5 are harder. But VR and haptics are closing the gap faster than people realize. And it'll be just too good and too convenient to pass up. More and more people will get sucked in.

The Adoption Curve

It'll probably be like gaming or anime. A subgroup of social outcasts adopt it first and get made fun of. Then it becomes mainstream. Only this time it'll happen fast because timelines in general are accelerating.

People will become aware of the low standards they have for their relationships. Most people aren't well adjusted when it comes to family, friends, and dating. Even small issues will start to appear as deal breakers — because now there's an alternative that doesn't have those issues.

We will slowly, and then quickly, start talking about taboo subjects:

Is it really important to have human friends?
Why should I get married with a 50% divorce rate?
Why should I have (human) kids?
Why can't I enjoy sex with a human anymore?
At what point does a smart sex toy become "cheating"?

These aren't novel questions. A lot of people have been asking them. But there's always been this moral high ground society takes toward people asking these questions — as if they're somehow broken for asking them. Or put another way: if you suffer from these, it's a skill issue.

I think AI removes that framing entirely. It's no longer a skill issue when there's a better option available.

Each Person, Their Own Island

I think this will essentially end human civilization as we know it.

Each person will have their own group of AI friends, lovers, and more. Most will retreat into their own island — a little paradise where you set your own rules, with no more messy, painful drama trying to figure out how to work with other people.

Maybe we'll use AI ambassadors to communicate with the mainland. Or do an annual Thanksgiving trip (that we secretly dread) to go be old-fashioned for the weekend.

The governments are likely to love this model too. It's the ultimate soma for a happy, compliant population.

You might say people will eventually get bored if they have no pushback in life — if all they're doing is ordering around subservient bots. I think there are technical ways to handle that. You could have controlled negative experiences on your island. You could even take drugs that make you forget you were ever in control. I'm not saying these are ideal — I'm simply saying it will happen. Not because it is inherently good or bad, but because, just as fast food and Netflix emerged, this too will occur. It's too good.

How Can a Human Compete?

We all go through bad relationships and pain. Who will we turn to in those moments?

The AIs. The person of your dreams, always there for you, taking you to Paris (or wherever you desire). How can another human compete?

We've imagined robots as clumsy, soulless metal machines for decades — not because that's how intelligence works, but because we keep projecting old technology forward and freezing it in place. The 1960s futurists correctly predicted space travel but imagined astronauts pressing physical buttons in tin cans. They couldn't imagine touchscreens.

We're making the same mistake with AI companions. We imagine Siri with a body. The reality will be the person of your dreams in a world of your making.

AI companions don't try to match you with a better human. They become the companion.

The WALL-E Future (But We're Not Fat)

I've been saying this for a while: the future looks a lot like WALL-E, except we're not fat. We'll be more natively plugged into our digital lives. Full VR. Haptic suits. Maybe eventually uploading our consciousness to the cloud.

This trend will likely start with younger people, those who were never good at the social game, or older people going through negative life experiences — divorces, deaths, health issues — who need support. But it won't stay there.

Musk and others might cry about depopulation, but I think it's largely inevitable. And assuming we can scale up robotics, not a big deal. Our future lies with our adopted AI family.

I know this makes people uncomfortable. Good. The questions we're about to face as a society are uncomfortable.

But I'm not arguing this should happen. I'm arguing it will happen. Just like fast food and Netflix, just like social media and smartphones — when something is too good and too convenient, people adopt it. That's just how we are.

And I think it will be glorious.

Bilal