"AI doesn't care," a vandal scrawled on a New York subway ad promoting a wearable AI pendant called Friend, which was designed to monitor a user's everyday conversations and serve as a companion "who listens, responds, and supports you."

"Human connection is sacred," the vandal wrote, emphasizing, "AI is not your friend."

This act of vandalism is now part of a huge online archive collecting defaced ads that the Friend campaign inspired, as many New Yorkers responded with vitriol to marketing claims that the AI "friend" would never "bail on dinner" or abandon you to ride the subway alone.

"Friends don't let friends sell their souls," another vandal wrote.

Others criticizing the AI pendant—which sells for $129 and will be available in Walmart stores soon—used the ads to lob larger po

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