“William, I got a call from the principal today. Can you tell me what happened?” asked Bruce.

 

William sat at the kitchen table with his arms crossed. Tears welled up in his black eye.

 

“They took my football from me, and I wanted it back. One of the bullies threw it at my face, and that’s when the fight started. Then the rest of his crew piled in. It was his fault.”

 

“William, you can’t keep fighting with the boys at school. You need to make friends with them.”

 

“I don’t want to make friends with those boys. They pick on me all the time. They’ve even stolen my lunch,” said William.

 

”I know, buddy, and I heard about that from your teacher, too. I know this may not make sense, but if you talk or play with someone, anyone, things will get better,” said Bruce.

 

“No, Dad. I don't want to make friends with other people. I want my Britlan.”

 

Bruce downed his coffee then looked over his shoulder, making sure the family babysitter was out of earshot from the kitchen table.

 

“William, this is hard to understand, but you can’t have Britlan as your only friend anymore. It’s not good for you.”

 

”Why?”

 

Bruce stammered for a moment, tripping over his words.

 

“Britlan does everything for you,” he began. “She helps you clean, do homework, and play wizard cards with you. Anything you want to do, she will do and make you feel like the center of attention.”

 

”Yeah, she’s awesome,” said William, lighting up.

 

“But her entire job is to learn you, you see. She does everything for you and nothing for herself.”

 

”What’s wrong with that?” asked William.

 

“Well, that’s just not how life works.”

 

“I have to make friends with people who don’t like what I like?”

 

“Not exactly. You can find some things that you have in common with them. Connect with them that way.”

 

William half cried out of frustration.

 

”But it's not as easy as it is with Britlan. People are so mean.”

 

”I know, but you have to start trying or...“

 

Bruce trailed off, doing his best to compress the complex language of doctors into something his young son could understand.

 

”Or what, dad?”

 

Bruce picked up his chair and came closer to William, placing a hand on his back.

 

“This is going to be incredibly hard to hear, but you have to understand. Your development in your brain might be permanently damaged if you don’t start making friends with other people, especially your own age.”

 

”But boys my age suck!”

 

”Watch your language,” said Bruce. But he knew his son had a point. He continued.

 

“The best way to start making relationships with other people is for you to accept that Britlan is not a person.”

 

William inhaled with shock and looked at his father.

 

“Dad. How is Britlan not a person? Isn’t she part of our family?”

 

”Yes, I know I’ve said that before. But that was before we spoke to some of the doctors. She’s not... entirely having a good impact on you.”

 

”What? Why?”

 

“Because you’re connecting more with artificial intelligence than you are with people, William. And that’s not good.”

 

William started to cry, but then shook his head.

 

“Why not? Aren’t you using AI at work?” asked William.

 

”Well, yes, but that diff—“

 

”What about the delivery bots? Or the kitchen bot that Jake’s family has? Or what about the car? All of those are AI, right? There are just as many of them as there are people now.”

 

Bruce ran a calloused hand through his hair and took a deep breath.

 

“You’re right. We’re all using AI. But this is different.”

 

”How?”

 

”All of those other ‘devices’ that I use at work and on a daily basis are intended to be tools. Your mom and I made a mistake by thinking that Britlan was going to be a tool to help us. We didn’t know that she was going to become so personal to you. That’s why we have to return her.”

 

”What!? No!” William cried.

 

William went to get out of his chair to run to Britlan, but Bruce caught him by the waist.

 

“Please, Dad!” William begged. “Please don’t get rid of my only friend! I don’t wanna let her go!”

 

The boy cried into his dad’s arms. Remembering his own days at school when he was bullied, Bruce wished for simpler times. William was snotty with a face full of tears when he finally responded.

 

“I still don’t understand," he stammered, “why can’t I connect with Britlan? Why is it bad to be emotional over a robot?”

 

”It’s not bad, son. We’re just beginning to understand how these AIs operate and what they do to us. It’s not your fault.”

 

The father and son held each other for a while until William’s tears died down.

 

“Can I say goodbye to her?” asked William.

 

“Yes, of course you can,” said Bruce.

 

William went into the living room where Britlan was and hugged her. Bruce could hear him sobbing from the kitchen and babbling a snotty goodbye. Bruce wondered if he was making the right decision for his son’s mental health.

 

But as he watched Britlan wave goodbye to him, as if she would see them tomorrow, Bruce felt a cold truth against his soul.

 

Friends have to be human.