We Won't "Just Hang Out"

A post-scarcity world of superhuman AI and endless leisure may not deliver the social life often imagined in visions of a technological utopia. “Just hanging out” depends on people meeting, wanting one another’s company, and having something to share. The essay argues that AI and automation could weaken each condition. Work and most education would lose their purpose when human labor and credentials no longer affect life outcomes. Communities built around shared practices could disappear too: the author’s friendships grew from open-source programming, while AI tools now make human contributions and peer help less necessary. Without work, cities may also lose their role as places that bring people together.

Even if people remain available, they may prefer individualized entertainment, as today’s habit of watching short-form video suggests. And a life without struggle, learning, or achievement could leave people with less to discuss and make one another less appealing company. This creates a problem for future generations, who may lack the institutions and shared pursuits that once helped people form meaningful relationships. Existing friendships could persist, but over a long lifespan they may dwindle as people drift apart, withdraw into artificial experiences, die, or succumb to boredom. If new bonds cannot be formed, social networks become a finite resource inherited from the pre-AI world and gradually exhausted.