Talking to strangers: an app adventure

A viral blog post by henryaj on LessWrong details the creation of an AI-powered app designed to help people overcome social anxiety by talking to strangers. The app replicates a 2022 study by Sandstrom, which found that participants who engaged in just one conversation with a stranger per day for five days (averaging 6.7 total interactions) experienced significant reductions in nervousness and improvements in conversational confidence. The effects persisted a week later, suggesting durable belief change.

Henryaj used Claude Code to program the app, which gamifies the experience with playful categories like 'Al Fresco' (talk to someone outside) and 'Bossy Pants' (talk to someone who looks like a leader). A small, informal test with three participants in Berkeley directionally confirmed the study's findings, showing that even a single interaction was less scary than predicted and boosted confidence. The post argues that while people often have positive interactions, they don't unlearn negative beliefs without repeated practice, making structured challenges valuable.