This should be obvious, but just in case it isn't, the loneliness epidemic is highly advantageous to the rich and powerful. The less of a social security net we have, the easier it is to divide and conquer us. This is also why they hate unions with a passion.

And if they can make money by giving us AI "friends" to "solve" this epidemic, even better, especially as it'll make us even more dependent on things that they directly control.