I understand what the author of this post means, and actually I agree with the sentiment, but I still find the feature useful.

I think the problem lies with the examples, and frankly, it is up to you how you use the feature.

Yes, if I write my SO "I love you", I expect him/her to reply with a honest "I love you too" that was not actually a computer replying. It is a philosophical question obviously, whether you see a response written by somebody or by the algorithm, if he/she actually selected it.

But if I just get a "I'm 5 mins late" from my friend, I don't think a "Don't worry, I'll wait" suggested by the algorithm is that bad and I myself would not mind getting such a "algorithmically suggested" response by my friend. After all, the other party selected the response himself, so I think it is honest.

I'm pretty sure Google had these or similar discussions internally as well.