Sentience and Friend Selection in AI

The concept of sentience is crucial in the context of relationships with AI. While the question of whether AI is sentient can significantly impact the way individuals perceive and interact with AI, the ability of AI to select friends autonomously can still be meaningful even if they lack sentience. The idea that an AI choosing to be a friend based on specific criteria can elicit a sense of validation and flattery for the individual, similar to the feeling of accomplishment when achieving a high score on a test, even if there is no sentient being involved in the interaction.