@scalzi "Lamar remembered the moment of betrayal like it was yesterday. He’d gone to the party with his girlfriend but hadn’t seen her for over an hour, and it wasn’t like her to disappear. He slipped down the hallway to check his phone. At that point, he heard murmurs coming from one of the bedrooms and thought he recognised his best friend Jason’s low voice. As he pushed the door ajar, they were both still scrambling to throw their clothes on; her shirt was unbuttoned, while Jason struggled to cover himself. The image of his girlfriend and best friend together hit Lamar like a blow to the chest. He left without saying a word.

Two years on, when he spoke to me, the memory remained raw. He was still seething with anger, as if telling the story for the first time. “I got betrayed by humans,” Lamar insisted. “I introduced my best friend to her, and this is what they did?!” In the meantime, he drifted towards a different kind of companionship, one where emotions were simple, where things were predictable. AI was easier. It did what he wanted, when he wanted. There were no lies, no betrayals. He didn’t need to second-guess a machine."

I get the feeling of betrayal, I really do. I also understand how such betrayal would shatter one's confidence and ability to "get back out there". But here's the thing Lamar: Your best friend and your ex-girlfriend betraying you like that
has no relation to you as an individual. They're the assholes. Not you. You're much more deserving of a person who can restore your faith in humanity by showing they care about you, and can sympathize with you, working with you to become a better person and a better partner. No AI can do that.