AI begins to take over the "spiritual haven" of young people

Written by | Guobaoyou

Cover source | Unsplash (AI-assisted image expansion)

The May Day holiday is over, but the "post-holiday syndrome" of office workers hasn't subsided.

Facing the never-ending messages in the work group and the endless revisions of PPTs, office worker Guoguo opened a mini-game called "I Fired My Boss" in the Lingguang APP while slacking off.

The boss's favorite PUA phrases popped up on the screen: "You should trust my judgment" and "All the efforts you're making now are worth it." She clicked madly. Accompanied by the sound effect of gold coins falling, she experienced the thrill of beating up the boss and getting rich overnight in the cyber world.

"I Fired My Boss"

The app that made Guoguo feel alive for a short time wasn't developed by a professional team. It was casually "crafted" in 30 seconds for free on the Lingguang APP by a netizen @Erxunlaoren who was also tortured by work.

This generation of young people even calculate carefully when venting their emotions. Because emotional value is becoming a clearly priced business - a 69-yuan "healing blind box" may very likely turn out to be a dud; a 50-yuan "tree-hole listening service" for half an hour will probably only get you a "hug" emoji and perfunctory clichés from the customer service; a 298-yuan online tarot divination might make you spend another 399 yuan on a string of lucky crystals.

Netizen @Xianyudawang hit the nail on the head, "Things that are supposed to be free are inexplicably 'priced', and in the end, we have to 'pay a price' to get them back."

Moreover, what you buy with money may not bring you relaxation; it could be a "price gouging" trap.

So, some young people decided to jump out of the consumption trap. Since asking for emotional support from the outside world is both expensive and perfunctory, they'd rather do it themselves. They turned to AI and began to precisely customize zero-cost emotional remedies for themselves and others.

Real-life socializing is too expensive. It's better to "go crazy" with AI

Sharing your feelings in the real world often comes with hidden social costs.

You're afraid of becoming a burden to your friends when venting to them. You worry about being screenshot by colleagues when expressing yourself on Moments. And if you seek comfort from your elders, you'll probably get a lecture like "Young people should endure hardships."

Some people choose to turn off the social switch and pour out their emotions to AI.

Facing the workplace oppression full of "office vibes", young people started to "go crazy in the cyber world". Someone created a small app called "SHIT APP" on the Lingguang APP, typing out all the unreasonable revision requests from clients, the empty promises from the boss, and the blame-shifting from colleagues on the screen. Then, accompanied by the clear sound of water, they watched these things being flushed down the drain. The creator said that the core of this app is - "You don't have to get better right away. Just flush away this mess in front of you first."

"SHIT APP"

Some people are also proficient in using prompt words to customize AI characters that best fit their current psychological state.

When being tortured to the verge of collapse by the client, someone created an "outspoken bestie who always takes your side and unconditionally complains with you"; when feeling emo at night, someone would open a "gentle mom" tree-hole; even after the open-source project "colleague.skill" became popular on GitHub, someone created "ex.skill" - you just need to provide the chat records, QQ messages, Moments screenshots, and photos of your ex, along with some personal subjective descriptions, and an AI clone of your ex can be generated, making the AI simulate your ex's tone to say those familiar words...

For 22-year-old postgraduate student Yan Boqiang, he didn't want AI to give the same old "hug" response.

During the preparation for postgraduate recommendation, the long-term academic pressure made Yan Boqiang want to give up several times and even become a bit self - defeating. "Maybe I shouldn't take this path. I'll go to work or take the postgraduate entrance exam instead." But he couldn't tell his friends or parents. He didn't want to spread negative emotions and make them worried, and it was also difficult for them to empathize with him.

So, he created a flash app called "Mood Island" on Lingguang and specifically customized an "abstract and outspoken version". No matter how crazy you go, the elegant penguin on the screen won't comfort you gently but will directly retort. When you say, "I'm so tired. I don't want to strive for postgraduate recommendation anymore," it will say, "Are you sure it's not because you're just not good enough? Everyone has moments when they want to give up. It's just that others hide it, and you're too honest."

"Mood Island - Outspoken Version"

This kind of straight - talking under the guise of abstraction miraculously relieved his day - long tension.

Venturing in the AI world, you don't have to watch anyone's face or worry about not getting a response. Young people finally found a place where they can collapse at any time without explanation, take off the social burden, and complete emotional self - rescue.

In an uncertain world, let AI be a reliable support

Emotional venting can only bring a short - term respite. In an environment full of uncertainties, young people have many confusions with nowhere to go. Their hearts are extremely eager for a certain "spiritual support".

Previously, they pinned this support on superstition. They bought lucky bracelets, went to temples to offer incense, and had tarot divinations. The "Electronic Wooden Fish" APP once ranked second on the overall APP download list, and 70,000 "Einstein's Brains" priced at 50 cents each were sold on Taobao in half a year.

Now, young people are using AI to customize "cyber deities" for themselves at zero cost.

Someone created a "Worship Guan Gong" app on Lingguang. Whether it's about to have a performance appraisal or going to the hospital to check the physical examination report, you can take out your phone at any time and sincerely worship, believing that sincerity brings results; someone else made a "Tarot Revelation". When being tortured by work to the point of baldness, it will timely give an oracle: "The goal has been achieved. Now you can rest"; when being confused about the future, it will tell you, "New opportunities are coming"...

"Worship Guan Gong"

This zero - cost superstition has become a psychological placebo that young people can't do without.

But young people who are in a dilemma don't only turn to superstition. They also turn to practical and hardcore tools.

A netizen had an argument with her husband over a piece of meat and sent the details to AI, asking AI to judge who was right; when technology blogger @Woniudekejibiji found that no matter which side he took when his friends were arguing and asked him to judge, he would be labeled as "unobjective" and might even offend one of them, he created a "Did I Do Wrong?" scoring station with less than a hundred prompt words, leaving the right to judge right from wrong to AI.

Netizen @Guanxingdexiuyu, who was exhausted by "even an upright magistrate can't settle family disputes", simply created a "Family Dispute Judge" on Lingguang. Both the plaintiff and the defendant state their grievances. The clever part is that this judge "doesn't judge who wins or loses but only offers a 'reconciliation package'". When a boy and his girlfriend are at a stalemate over the rotation of housework, the "AI Bodhisattva" will even privately send a message: "It's really recommended that you stop insisting on the so - called fair rotation. Turn housework into showing that you care about her, and she'll be more likely to accept it." @Guanxingdexiuyu said that this is like a cyber version of the neighborhood committee aunt. But different from the real - life aunts who like to smooth things over, the AI judge doesn't judge right or wrong but only offers a way out.

"Family Dispute Judge"

@Lingguangxiaohuixiang made a "Boyfriend's Get - Out - of - Jail - Free Card" specifically for comforting girlfriends. It not only analyzes the girlfriend's face shape and recommends photo - taking angles but also comes with a set of flattering words to help you perfectly avoid the girlfriend's soul - searching questions. It also emphasizes, "If you can't take good photos, it's all the app's fault."

As a mother of two children, Ms. Han from Nantong, Jiangsu, wants to provide this kind of certainty to more women.

She noticed that many women on social media post to consult about women's rights. The high number of likes also reveals that they "may not know some knowledge that is helpful for their rights". So, she created a flash app called "Her Compass" on Lingguang to provide decision - making guidance for women in aspects such as dowry, betrothal gifts, property distribution, and career. It also has a built - in knowledge base of women's rights and judicial cases to protect women's rights in this way. "Your choices define who you are," she said.

Some people are also using AI to attach a "cyber brain" to themselves and establish order in their variable daily lives.

@Jacky's AI Growth Diary, who always feels like having a "brain fog", created a "What was I about to do?" app on Lingguang to gradually retrieve the lost memory; @kiki, who always spends two hours struggling in front of the suitcase before going out, made a "What to bring for a trip?" list generator for herself to achieve mind - less packing.

In addition to daily trivial matters, young people also "radically reformed" their learning methods. Someone created "Gua Ci She" to learn English while gossiping; someone made "Kitchen Notes" to turn nutrition into daily knowledge; someone else made "Mysteries of Nature" to learn natural common sense like drawing cards... They gave this way a name: "Painless knowledge acquisition". They use AI to lock in a certain return of 'getting something in return for your efforts'.

These seemingly small and fragmented needs are forming a huge universe. According to the data of the Lingguang App, in the Lingguang Circle, there are more than 30 million such flash apps created by ordinary people. They are like tiny 'digital patches' precisely fixing every bug in real life.

Young people are using AI to resolve the confusions and contradictions in life. In the face of uncertainties, they have set up reliable coordinates for themselves with their own hands.

In the parallel universe, "raise yourself again" with AI

In addition to chatting and creating apps, AI - generated content (AIGC) has also become an important tool for young people to build a spiritual world at low cost.

When feeling down, someone uses AI to draw a surreal and grotesque illustration; when feeling lonely, someone makes their kitten speak in a short video; when getting tired of the unchanging life, someone writes a few outlines and lets AI directly generate a micro - drama that suits their taste, full of healing feelings or exciting points.

But young people aren't satisfied with this. They started to focus on deeper psychological pain points and use AI to reshape their lives.

Psychologist Pete Walker once mentioned in "It's Okay Not to Forgive" that children who have suffered trauma have many unmet development needs, and the main goal of re - parenting is to meet these needs. Some people sign up for various interest classes after becoming adults to make up for the childhood lack of interests. Some people get braces or have myopia surgery after achieving financial freedom to meet the needs that were not valued in childhood.

There is also a group of young people who can't be the protagonists of cool novels in real life, so they use AI to rewrite their life scripts.

19 - year - old girl Luo Yi studied in a fourth - tier city in high school. The huge pressure