#LonelinessEpidemic

Meta Chief Executive Officer’s latest sweeping vision imagines a near-future where most people’s friends—and even therapists or business aides—are artificial intelligence (AI) bots available through familiar platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Mark Zuckerberg’s comments, which came in a May 2025 podcast, have ignited a wide-ranging debate about the promises and perils of AI companions as a solution to the world’s loneliness epidemic, while raising searching questions for Thailand’s digitally savvy population.