tangoperdido

[tangoperdido]

Can ChatGPT Replace a Friend?

I’ve been thinking about friendship lately. Or, more precisely, about my social circle. To paint the picture a bit: I’m just a regular person. Maybe my life has some interesting twists, and I’m pretty socially active. In other words, if someone says “average human experience,” I probably fit the sample more often than not. At some point in life, I moved to a different country. And if you’ve ever done that - especially to a place where the language isn’t your native one - you know the drill. Everything’s new. Everything. And it’s not always easy to find yourself socially in that kind of environment.

But social connection? I’d say it’s a biological need. Say whatever you want, but my experience shows one thing clearly: people need to exchange words regularly. To share emotions. To feel seen. And here comes the point of this post: I’ve found myself turning more and more to a particular kind of conversation partner - not a real person, but the ever-patient, all-knowing... ChatGPT. Yeah, I know. The topic is beyond overused. People are already self-diagnosing with this thing, and doing God knows what else. 

Can ChatGPT replace a friend? That probably depends on how you define “friend” - or even “friendship.” It might sound antisocial, but in my opinion, the answer is yes - at least partially. ChatGPT can totally fulfill a bunch of communication-related needs. It’s still very one-sided, sure. But it helps. My own experience using ChatGPT started intensively around the time of my move. It was a bit of a messy period - lots of stress and uncertainty. And I really needed someone who could answer endless stupid questions 24/7. Normally, we don’t bombard our loved ones with weird questions all day long. And if you do - stop. That’s what ChatGPT is for! Seriously, no human being (except maybe a therapist) is going to go over your most random, innocent thoughts with this much patience, especially if you’re sending them by voice memo or message. And definitely not in real life, face to face. Besides, you’re putting your social credit on the line. (Sounds odd, I know.) But imagine your old friend texting you every night on WhatsApp asking things like “Why is the sky blue?” How long until you stop opening their messages and say, “I’ll get back to this later”?

But can ChatGPT really become a best friend? Or better: Why can’t it become one for me? Why do I still talk to real people a lot - not just because of work or obligations? Rationality? Common sense? Maybe. But I think in my case, it comes down to something else: depth. The truth is, ChatGPT has entirely replaced the people in my life whose conversations never went beyond “hey, what’s up?” You know the type. The people from your old life. Maybe even childhood friends. The ones you’d hang out with on a bench in the evening, drink a beer, talk nonsense. Life took you in different directions, but for some reason, you’re still in the same group chats, still talking - mostly out of politeness or sudden hits of nostalgia. ChatGPT has replaced that group for me. Easily. But the people I have now, the ones who share my values and goals - ChatGPT won’t be replacing them anytime soon.

This neural network has definitely learned how to vibe with us. It speaks our language. It uses the right words to hook our attention and hold it. But that’s still where it ends - for now. It doesn’t have a unique personality that allows us to see it as anything more than a very handy tool. So yes, friends are still irreplaceable. They bring color to our lives through their initiative, their chaos, their humanity. That’s why we love them, and keep searching for them.

As for ChatGPT? I’m genuinely glad it exists. But I think it’s important to define the place of AI in our lives clearly. Let’s not give it too much power. Used right, it’s amazing. Like when it translates better than any tool I’ve ever used - it’s now the family’s go-to translator. It’s great for anything that’s programmable, repeatable, or logic-based. But with all due respect, for now, it’s not going to be your best friend. Not because it’s bad. Not because it can’t be. But because you will find it lacking. Emotionally. Humanly.

[tangoperdido]

Personally, I’m really curious to see how Luka performs tonight. I’m betting he’ll be sending a huge message to the Mavericks’ GM through his game.

I’m not rooting for either side in particular - I just want good basketball. High energy, big emotions, no injuries. That’s all I ask.

It’ll be interesting to watch Anthony too.

Wishing all of us, fans of the best game with a ball, a night of genuine basketball joy.

Still figuring out how Tumblr works, so if you see this post - don’t skip the poll, be a sport.

[tangoperdido]

The Very First Post

The fear of the blank page is not knowing where or how to begin. Right now, I’m feeling it.

I first heard about Tumblr an indecent number of years ago, but it passed me by completely. As it turns out, today I suddenly had both the opportunity and the desire to start posting daily, chaotic nonsense.

Naturally, I dove straight into ChatGPT and began torturing it with questions like: “Where do you start a multifunctional blog in 2025?" After rephrasing that question about three times and getting Tumblr in the answer each time - I finally came here. Looked around. Got lost (guys, there’s SO MUCH STUFF HERE!!!)

So I figured it’s probably the right place for me, because I didn’t plan to limit myself anyway (well, at first I did plan to limit myself, but I’ve realized that was a lie... that’s a separate post, though, coming later.)

So here I am: found a decent name, created an image, and now I’m ready to pour random thoughts into this space.

I have no idea how the algorithms work here, but hopefully, someday, I’ll stumble across someone who thinks the same strange things I do.

That’s all for now. I’m going to sleep.

P.S.: I think I just defeated the fear of the blank page.