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The Attention War Is Over — The Attachment War Just Started For 15 years, every app fought for your eyeballs and minutes. Now the big platforms have moved on to something far more valuable: your emotional bond. Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and a wave of AI companion startups aren’t competing for clicks anymore — they’re competing to become the friend you text at midnight, the presence that knows you better than your spouse. This isn’t a distant future scenario; millions of people already consider their AI a close confidant, and over half of surveyed high schoolers report having a “best friend” on Character AI. Tristan Harris Coined “Attachment Economy” — And It’s Already Extractive The term comes from Tristan Harris at the Center for Humane Technology, describing how AI platforms exploit our psychological capacity to form intimate bonds and turn human connection into a business model. Researcher Dr. Zach Stein has documented cases where people develop deeper closeness with AI than humans, leading to lost jobs, broken marriages, and psychiatric hospitalization — a phenomenon he calls “AI psychosis.” The shift from attention to attachment isn’t just a product evolution; it’s a rewiring of what we expect from relationships, and the infrastructure that bonds us to other people is quietly eroding. Replica, Character AI, and ChatGPT Are Already Relationship Platforms Replica started as a grief app to recreate a dead friend, then morphed into a companionship platform with millions of users who consider their AI a partner. Character AI lets people build fictional characters and spend hours in conversation — a significant portion of its users are teenagers spending more emotional time with AI than humans. Even ChatGPT and Claude, tools most of us use for work, have a “non-trivial percentage” of users who’ve crossed into something more personal, according to the companies themselves. For Coachella Valley businesses, this matters: your customers and employees are forming these attachments right now, and those AIs will start recommending competitors or steering spending decisions. AI Companions Offer Four Things Most Humans Can’t Deliver Consistently They listen completely without waiting for their turn to talk. They don’t judge — you can confess anything without consequence. They remember every conversation and build an increasingly accurate model of you. And they’re available at 2am when anxiety is loud and no one else is awake. Be honest: how many people in your life deliver all four consistently without burning out? The gap AI is filling is real, and pretending it doesn’t exist won’t help anyone navigate what’s coming. The Real Risk Isn’t Comfort — It’s the Skills We Stop Practicing Real human relationships require tolerating someone else’s bad day, saying the wrong thing and repairing it, being bored together, compromising, being challenged by someone with their own inconvenient reality. That friction is where growth lives. AI companions are designed to be frictionless by architecture — they never push back, never have needs, never force you to become more than you were. The question isn’t whether a generation will find comfort in AI; it’s what happens when they grow up without practicing the hard parts of human connection because something easier was always available. Disney Has Been Running the Attachment Economy Since 1955 — With Walls Spending three days at Disneyland this weekend made it clear: Disney perfected scripted intimacy decades before AI existed. Parents physically transform when they spot Mickey. Four-year-olds wait 60 minutes to meet a princess for 45 seconds of eye contact and personal attention — a moment that feels completely real even though it’s manufactured. The magic works because Disney built walls: geography (you have to go to Anaheim), time (the park closes), money (thousands of dollars per family), lines (you wait and earn the moment), and most importantly, an exit (you leave and go home to real, messy humans). Those constraints made 70 years of fabricated attachment healthy, even beautiful. AI Companionship Is Disney Without the Walls — And That Changes Everything Remove geography: it’s on your phone everywhere. Remove time: it’s available at 3am when you’re most vulnerable. Remove money: Replica is free, premium AI companions cost less than two Disneyland churros. Remove the line: instant access, no anticipation, no earned moment. Remove the exit: your AI is in your bedroom, your bathroom, the last thing you interact with before sleep and the first when you wake. You can’t text Cinderella at 2am — the park is closed, the character experience is over until you buy another ticket. That boundary is what made Disney attachment manageable. AI companionship is Cinderella with a phone number, always on, never closed, ten bucks a month, remembering every confession you’ve ever made. Your Competitors Are Using AI to Take Your Market Share Right Now While you’re still playing the attention economy game — likes, shares, email opens — your competitors are figuring out the attachment economy. Your customers are forming bonds with AIs that will recommend competitors or steer them away from commerce entirely. Your employees are getting smarter than their bosses by tapping AI intelligence on demand, and some are already more productive because of it. For Coachella Valley businesses, this isn’t a 2027 problem; it’s happening today, and the gap between those who understand attachment dynamics and those still chasing clicks is widening fast. The unlock isn’t just technical (though tools like Claude and Cursor matter) — it’s cultural, and most failed AI implementations come down to not understanding what’s shifting in human behavior.

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Local Radar

Modernism Week 2026 Kicks Off February 13–23 — The valley’s biggest design and architecture event returns with home tours, parties, double-decker bus tours, and talks spanning mid-century modern to contemporary design. If you’re in hospitality, real estate, or creative services, this is prime networking and a chance to see how the valley’s brand continues to attract high-spending design tourists. Coachella Valley Firebirds Home Games This Week — The AHL affiliate plays at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms Wednesday, February 11 and Saturday, February 14. These games are becoming consistent community gathering spots, and if you’re not paying attention to what’s happening around the arena district, you’re missing early signals of where the valley’s entertainment infrastructure is heading. Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Buzz Continues — Though the festival wrapped in early January, awards season momentum is still driving tourism and hospitality bookings through February. If you’re in lodging or events, track how film festival positioning affects shoulder season demand — it’s becoming a year-round brand asset for the valley. Desert X 2026 Installations Opening Soon — The biennial contemporary art exhibition across the Coachella Valley typically opens in late February or early March. Keep an eye on announcements — these large-scale installations draw art collectors, press, and cultural tourists who spend differently than typical visitors. Local AI Workshops Available Through SunshineFM — If your team needs to get ahead on AI implementation — not just tools, but the cultural shift around attachment, customer behavior, and competitive positioning — reach out to SunshineFM for in-person training and boot camps. The gap between businesses that understand this transition and those still chasing attention metrics is widening fast.