I. The founder
Sol Kennedy used To ask his assistant read the messages that his ex-wife had sent him. Kennedy claims that after the couple split in 2020, his communications with her were still intact. “tough.” An email, or a stream of them, would arrive—stuff about their two kids mixed with unrelated emotional wallops—and his day would be ruined trying to reply. Kennedy, an investor and serial tech founder in Silicon Valley at the time, was in a therapy session. He felt the need to have real-time help outside of his weekly therapy sessions.
Their communications changed after the divorce to an online platform called OurFamilyWizardParents in the United States, as well as abroad, use to send messages, exchange calendars and track expenses. The time stamps on everything are court admissible. Kennedy spent extra money for an additional add-on known as ToneMeter. OFW promoted it at that time. “emotional spellcheck.” The software will analyze your message and flag any language you may find offensive. “concerning,” “aggressive,” “upsetting,” “demeaning,” …and so on. Kennedy says there was one problem: his co-parent did not seem to use The following is a list of the most recent and relevant articles. ToneMeter.
Kennedy was an early adopter and had been testing ChatGPT. “cocreate” Bedtime stories for his children. He turned to the book for help in communicating with his ex. He was wowed—and he wasn’t the first. People with difficult ex-partners, coworkers, or family members were shocked to see the chatbot give them such excellent advice and emotional validation. This machine could say, without any apparent agenda, you weren’t crazy. This counselor would hold your hand patiently, 24/7, while you wade through all the bullshit. “A scalable solution” Kennedy describes supplement therapy. Finally.
But fresh out of the box, ChatGPT was too talkative for Kennedy’s needs, he says—and much too apologetic. The program would respond to him with a long list of sentences. Please forgive me. I will do better. Having no self, it had no self-esteem.
Kennedy asked for a bot with a conversational interface. “spine,” He thought that, if he created it, many other parents would want to use it. AI, he thought, could be used to help parents at all stages of the communication process. It would filter out emotional triggers and only summarize facts. It would suggest the appropriate response. The system could guide users towards a desired outcome. “a better way,” Kennedy says. Kennedy says. He called it BestInterest, after the standard that courts often use for custody decisions—the “best interest” Children or young children. He took the OpenAI off-theshelf models and gave them spine using his own prompts.
Of course, there are many reasons why estranged partners fight. BestInterest may not work for many people, or even the majority, after a few months. But when a certain kind of personality is in the mix—call it “high-conflict,” “narcissistic,” “controlling,” “toxic,” What is the synonym of “crazy-making” you tend to see cross your internet feed—the fighting about the kids, at least from one side, never stops. Kennedy wanted his chatbot to stand up to these people, so he turned to the one they may hate most: Ramani Durvasula, a Los Angeles–based clinical psychologist who specializes in how narcissism shapes relationships.
