FT Weekend Fest: Could AI make us happier?

De Botton argues AI's banality, not brilliance, makes it a useful — if incomplete — substitute for costly, scarce psychotherapy.

• Not original by design: De Botton argues AI's value in relationships is its lack of originality — it offers "glorified common sense," the wisdom of crowds, not esoteric insight.
• Reframing sycophancy as corrective: People turning to AI over relationship distress are usually excessively self-blaming, not arrogant, so AI's flattering tendency counteracts punitive self-talk rather than inflating ego.

Themes, sentiment and reasons are AI-written paraphrases, checked so they never quote an episode. They may contain errors. Not investment advice. Episodes remain the property of their creators.