National Journal

In an April appearance on the Dwarkesh Podcast, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his vision for the artificial intelligence future. He predicted it would be “funnier” and “weirder” than our current reality, as people increasingly rely on AI chatbots to fill their social quota.  “The average American, I think, has fewer than three friends. … The average person has demand for meaningfully more. I think it’s, like, 15,” Zuckerberg said. “The average person wants more connection than they have.”

For the past year, investments in artificial intelligence—fueled by the promise that it will radically increase efficiency across most sectors—have helped prop up an economy pummeled by inflation, higher interest rates, and uncertainty around tariffs. But many now fear the AI bubble could soon burst, taking the entire U.S. economy down with it. The expected efficiency gains, by and large, have yet to materialize. While nearly 80 percent of companies say they have started to use generative AI, j