AM AI YOUR 2AM FRIEND?

THE QUESTION FOR AFRICA IS NOT WHETHER PEOPLE-AI RELATIONSHIPS ARE COMING. THEY'RE HERE. THE QUESTION IS WHAT THEY WILL DO TO THE BONDS THAT HAVE KEPT US ALIVE FOR GENERATIONS, ARGUES PAULA SLIER IN THIS STORY ON WHAT'S AT THE CORE OF HUMAN CONNECTIONS.

- PAULA SLIER

In a continent where the community, family, cousins, neighbors and elders are more than a social ideal-they’re a survival network-we're beginning to see something new: people forming emotional bonds with Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Sometimes it’s harmless-a late-night chat with a bot when nobody's awake.

But when it starts replacing the warmth of a hand on your shoulder or a voice that really listens, that’s when AI stops comforting and starts eroding what makes us human. The question for Africa is not whether people-AI relationships are coming. They're here. The question is what they will do to the bonds that have kept us alive for generations.

Dan Stillerman, an AI Adoption Strategist and Coach in South Africa, remembers the moment AI stopped being a toy. “I started dabbling with AI in November 2022 when ChatGPT launched. At first it was a novelty, something I'd use occasionally to brainstorm or draft an email. Then I watched Jeremy Utley’s video on AI-powered creativity. That changed everything. I stopped treating AI as a tool and started partnering with it.”

Stillerman now uses AI to write, repurpose content, summarize books and think through strategy. “It’s become less like Google on steroids and more like a thinking partner I can talk to.”

He has also noticed something else: “AI never gets tired, distracted or defensive. It listens without judgement, distils complex thoughts, and remembers nuance over time. Friends and family bring love and empathy, but also their own biases and distractions. AI gives me clarity fast, especially at 2AM.”