‘People Need Human Contact!’ Fox News Contributor Dumps All Over Zuckerberg’s AI Chatbot ‘Friend’ Proposal

Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo pushed back against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comments this week, suggesting that AI chatbots could help address the growing loneliness epidemic in the country.

On Friday’s broadcast of The Ingraham Angle, Arroyo dismissed the idea that artificial intelligence could replace human interaction, telling host Laura Ingraham that “people need human contact” and calling AI companions “bots.”

Zuckerberg made the remarks during a podcast interview with Dwarkesh Patel.

In the interview, the Meta CEO said that the average American has fewer than three close friends and suggested that people want more meaningful social connections. He argued that AI could help fill the gap.

“There’s the stat that I always think is crazy — the average American has fewer than three friends,” Zuckerberg said. “The average person wants more connectivity.”

Ingraham aired a clip of Zuckerberg discussing the potential for people to use AI for social interaction and suggesting that digital tools should be integrated more closely with the physical world.

She said she found the interview “interesting” and noted Zuckerberg’s recognition of the importance of physical connection.

Arroyo rejected the idea that artificial intelligence could be a substitute for human friendship.

Ingraham said, “I found it to be a really interesting interview, but at least he acknowledged the importance of physical connections, Raymond.” Arroyo replied:

I know, but Laura, he’s really offering an alternative here and saying AI is so advanced now we have to meld the fake world of AI with the real world. I disagree with this entirely. People need human contact. They need touch. They need human empathy. They need real relationships. And I’m sorry. AI won’t suddenly turn and correct you and say, “You know what? You’ve gone way off the path.”

Do this now. I’m worried about you. AI is not going to have that kind of functionality. You know an AI friend is a friend like a pet rock is a pet. I’m sorry. They’re not Laura. They’re now – that’s a bot. It’s just not a real person.”

Arroyo ended the segment by concluding, “I hope friendship and sex are not on the menu with AI, but that’s just me. You all can do what you want. I’m out.”

Watch above via Fox News.