EverFriends.ai

09/16/2025

🚨 Tech Week GR, Day 2: If you’re into AI, startups, or Michigan-made innovation—today is your playground.

Day 1 was powerful. Wozniak set the tone. The energy at Startups at Sundown was electric.

But Day 2? We’re doubling down on what makes Michigan one of the most exciting places in the country for emerging tech.

🎯 This morning:

We’re at The Collider + AI Garage with Atomic Object, spotlighting the boldest AI startups and cutting-edge demos. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

🥡 Midday:

Heading to It Started at State with Matt Maloney of Grubhub—presented by the MSU Research Foundation. A celebration of roots, grit, and founders who scale ideas into institutions.

🛳 Evening:

We wrap up with Tech on Deck—hosted by the the one and only Mark Johnson (Michigan Software Labs) and the team at Grand Ventures. Good people, big ideas, all in beautiful Ada, Michigan.

📲 I’ll be sharing more all day through my actual twin. 😁 You don’t want to miss this.

09/15/2025

🟦 It begins. Tech Week GR is here.

⚡ Steve Wozniak is opening the week with a jolt of inspiration.

🌇Tonight’s Startup at Sundown is where visionaries collide.

AI Dan will be posting every day as we showcase the groundbreaking work of EverFriends, HelloMyFriend, and AI Human powered by Vern AI. We’re here to make tech more human.

Let’s build something unforgettable—together.

09/13/2025

🚨 It’s almost here… Tech Week Grand Rapids kicks off Monday! 🚨We start off with Steve Wozniak and then we are off and running with Startups at Sundown with Vetr Health, Farmish, HealthBar Ride Your Way and Reel Free!

I’m honored (and fired up) to be featured across three major tracks this year:

✅ Health Tech — exploring the future of AI companionship, caregiver relief, and dementia support through EverFriends.ai with MSU Research Foundation
✅ Top Innovative Companies — showcasing real-world solutions from EverFriends for our aging loved ones. Thanks to The Right Place, Inc.
✅ Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs — sharing the journey of building tech that leads with purpose at City Innovations | A Venture Studio

We’re on a mission to scale empathy, restore connection, and bring hope—through intelligent avatars and emotionally aware AI.

All week long, I’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes moments, live demos, and powerful conversations—with a little help from my digital twin 😉

If you’re in Grand Rapids, come find me!

If you’re online, follow along.

Let’s build a more human future—together. Make sure you follow and check in with all my friends and fellow change makers as well!

08/27/2025

I am excited to announce that EverFriends.ai will be heading to Traverse City for the TCNewTech Pitch competition on Sept. 9 at the City Opera House! Thanks to 20Fathoms for the invite and opportunity. If you are in the area stop by and say hello.

https://20fathoms.org/sept-9-tcnewtech-celebrates-10th-anniversary-of-the-local-pitch-competition/

Sept. 9’s TCNewTech will celebrate the 10th anniversary of TCNewTech and will include a special commemoration in addition to the pitch competition.

07/03/2025

What happens when deep leadership experience, a marketing mindset, and cutting-edge AI collide? You get EverFriends.ai—a tech platform with heart. In this episode, …

06/17/2025

Thanks to our great partner Hume AI for the shout-out!

🗣️ Voice AI is changing healthcare - not just by cutting admin burden, but by offering real companionship. If you're building in this space, try Hume: https://demo.hume.ai/ Shoutout to our partner Daniel Hungerford from EverFriends.ai for building voice companions that help older adults fee...

06/13/2025

I had the chance to interview with Business Insider about the emotional side of AI last week. It was great to be able to tell our story along side of our partner Hume and address how Voice AI is filling in the gaps of life for those who need comfort and companionship in those moments. Here is the article:

Voice AI tools are helping clinics cut paperwork and burnout, while older adults are using AI companions to feel less alone.

06/12/2025

The new trailer for my book Soulware 2.0 now available on Amazon! Thank you to all of you who have supported me buy buying my book over the last two days! I appreciate you all!

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06/10/2025

I am excited to be a guest on Alzheimer's Speaks Radio today! I will let you know when it is live. In the meantime check out all the great resources Lori La Bey has put together for those people living with Alzheimer's and their families.

Alzheimer's Speaks Radio - Alzheimer's Speaks
https://alzheimersspeaks.com/alzheimers-speaks-radio/

06/03/2025

🔒✨ 2 Days Until Launch – Excerpt from Soulware 2.0

If there's one word that keeps showing up in every conversation about emotionally aware AI, it's this:

Trust. Can We Trust AI with Our Secrets?

It’s not just about clean data or functional design.
It’s about relationship.

When we create digital beings, AI that listens, remembers, and responds with empathy we’re not just coding responses. We’re shaping a bond. And bonds require boundaries, transparency, and care.

This excerpt from Soulware 2.0, comes from a whole chapter on why trust is the currency of human-AI interaction… and how it must be earned, not engineered. Here is a portion of the chapter:

The foundation of trust with digital humans starts with transparency. Users need to know what they're interacting with. This sounds simple, but it's often overlooked in the rush to create engaging experiences.
Transparency begins with clear disclosure. Users should always know when they're talking to an AI rather than a human. This might seem obvious, but as digital humans become more realistic in their appearance, voice, and conversational abilities, the line can blur. Some companies have already faced backlash for deploying AI systems that pretended to be human, calling customers without disclosing their artificial nature. This kind of deception undermines trust and treats users as objects to be manipulated rather than people deserving of honesty.

✅ Trust means the AI remembers you, not just your data.
✅ Trust means knowing what the AI does with what you share.
✅ Trust means comfort without manipulation. Empathy without illusion.

When people, especially the vulnerable, open up to AI companions, it’s not a gimmick. It’s an act of hope.

And it’s our job as builders to honor that.

📘 2 days until launch.

👇 What builds trust for you when interacting with technology?

05/31/2025

🧠✨ 5 Days Until Launch – Sneak Peek from Soulware 2.0

As we count down to the release of Soulware 2.0, I wanted to share a short excerpt that captures the heart of the book.

This isn’t just about AI that answers questions or sets reminders. It’s about digital beings that comfort, teach, and connect—technology that’s designed to be emotionally aware and ethically grounded.

Here’s a glimpse into Soulware 2.0:

"The world is changing. Right now, under our feet, a quiet revolution is taking place. It's not the kind that makes daily headlines, but it can impact your life in ways you might not expect. Artificial intelligence is growing up. It's moving beyond just crunching numbers and organizing data. Now, it's starting to understand how we feel.

This new kind of AI doesn't just think - it listens. It notices when your voice drops or when you smile. It remembers what made you happy yesterday and what worried you last week. It responds not just to your words, but to the emotion behind them. We call this emotional AI, and it marks the beginning of something new in the story of technology and humanity."

📘 Soulware 2.0 drops in 5 days. I’ve poured everything I’ve learned into this book—stories from the front lines, hard ethical questions, and a roadmap for how we can build AI that supports human flourishing.

👇 I’d love your thoughts on the excerpt—does it resonate with where you think AI is going?