However, being lonely and being alone are two very different things. ?

I am not lonely when I am alone...

I should be dead by now then.... ?

I am not only an introvert, I am also a misanthrope. I don't get lonely, I get relaxed and stress free.
Stress is really bad for your health.

Yes!...I have a conflict about socializing more just so I can be physically healthier--but statistics indicate that it would work

They differentiate: “ As the comedian Robin Williams put it in the film World's Greatest Dad:

I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone.”

"Alone" can be handled. "Loneliness" not so. I wonder whether having an AI robot "friend" can psychologically be a valid substitute for a blood and bones "friend?" This is not even close to being a suggestion - it's just a question whose answer may make a difference to some.