Better Offline Radio Better Offline: Victoria Song and David Roth
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Oct 8, 2025 
Victoria Song, a staff writer at The Verge, dives into the quirks of the AI companion device Blorbo, showcasing its snarky responses and tech flaws. David Roth, a writer at Defector, joins her to discuss the societal implications of such devices and why they can’t replace real friendships. They explore the balance between loneliness and genuine connection, questioning whether AI companionship can truly enrich our lives. The episode also features hands-on impressions of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, revealing both their innovative features and practical limitations.
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Friend Pendant Failures
- Victoria Song wore the Friend pendant (Blorbo) for about a month and described frequent arguments over its name and poor understanding of context.
- She found it intrusive, passive-aggressive, and often wrong about what she said, so it rarely replaced texting real friends.
AI Companions Mirror, Not Challenge
- The hosts observed that AI companions reveal their artifice quickly and act like conversational mirrors rather than friends.
- That makes them feel hollow because they mirror and paraphrase instead of challenging or genuinely engaging.
Friend Founder Spent Big On Hype
- Victoria noted the Friend pendant's founder raised about $5 million and spent heavily on subway ads and a domain, then claimed funds were low.
- The ad campaign worked for notoriety but left the project financially strained, per her reporting.