As usual, I'm a dissenting voice
It's used quite a lot here, not least for All-weather sports fields which, of course don't get muddy, drain wonderfully and allow people to play all their field games regardless of the weather.
In kindergartens and schools it's used for hygiene and so babies don't hurt themselves if they fall.
It's also use on roof gardens and some townhouse strips where maintenance would be an extra expense.
It saves mowing for those who find that hard for any reason.
The modern stuff looks really good, sold in various different grass styles, fine to broad leaf, and you wouldn't know it was artificial unless you got very close.
So I would tell your friend to go look at it and not be swayed by old-fashioned visions of what it used to look like.