In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is creeping into every facet of our lives, one thing remained sacred — or so we thought. AI has taken on the delicate art of delivering bad news. This week, Nick Spreen, a New York-based software developer, found himself on the receiving end of a relationship-ending text. But it wasn’t his ex that first broke the news. Instead, he was greeted by a concise and impersonal AI-generated summary on his iPhone: “No longer in a relationship; wants belongings from the apartment.”
AI-Generated Breakups Are Here
Spreen shared the uncanny experience on X (formerly Twitter), posting a screenshot of Apple’s “Apple Intelligence” message summary feature in action. The post quickly went viral, garnering widespread reactions ranging from humor to horror. In a follow-up post, Spreen confirmed the breakup was real: “Yes this was real, yes it happened yesterday” also adding “Yes it was my birthday.” Ouch!
The AI-generated summary was an early peek at one of Apple’s latest iOS features, currently available through the public beta of iOS 18. This new AI tool, set to fully launch later this fall, digests incoming texts and emails and produces what is essentially a bullet-point version of their contents — just short enough so you can get the gist of it by reading the notification tab.
While the feature is designed to streamline communication, Spreen’s story illustrates how this AI-driven shortcut can feel less like a convenience and more like a cold, dystopian glimpse into the future.
The original texts, according to Spreen, were far more emotional than the sterile AI-generated summary. His ex-girlfriend’s message was along the lines of “I can’t believe you just did that, we’re done, I want my stuff.” Apple’s AI stripped it of its emotional depth, transforming what was originally a heartbreaking text into a clinical note.
Mixed Feelings
“It added a level of distance that wasn’t a bad thing,” Spreen reflected during an interview with Ars Technica, likening the experience to having a “personal assistant who stays professional, even in awful situations,” although he added “more than anything it felt unreal and dystopian.”
This peculiar case raises questions about what we stand to lose when AI intervenes in deeply personal moments. The AI bot could be the first bearer of all sorts of bad news, including losing your job or the death of a loved one. And it’s not clear if people want it this way. For now, this is a beta test and Apple may change things when the AI summarizing feature is activated.
There’s no question that as artificial intelligence continues to evolve, our social norms will have to catch up. Just as text message breakups were once considered rude in the early 2000s and are now widely accepted, we may someday normalize AI summaries of our most intimate moments. But should we?
