All an artificial intelligence needs to improve at a task is training, but what happens when the trainer is you? Imagine an avatar, a companion with whom you share different details of your life day after day, and that learns more and more about you. That companion becomes an unconditional ally, a source of support in difficult moments, a resource to fight loneliness. The people behind the Replika project offer exactly that, and judging by user comments, it's working…
“Be Right Back”. First episode of the second season of Black Mirror. A woman loses her boyfriend in a traffic accident, and ends up using a service capable of recreating her partner virtually with an artificial intelligence that feeds on all their digital exchanges, including messages and comments on social networks. Following Black Mirror's typical style, the virtual boyfriend ends up turned into an android, “replacing” the original… though not entirely.
This episode dates back to 2013, but comparisons with other “chatbot AI” services were immediate. Can an artificial intelligence accompany someone in a moment of grief? Help in stages of depression and loneliness? Stimulate our self-esteem? Provide emotional security? In short, be a positive influence across the entire spectrum. Many projects suggest the answer is “yes,” and one of the most advanced is Replika.
(Editor's note: The video has Spanish subtitles available.)
Its official page is simple and direct: Replika is an “artificial intelligence companion” that is always there to listen and talk, and always on your side. One of Replika's founders is Eugenia Kuyda, whom we remember for her previous project in which she “reconstructed” digitally Roman Mazurenko, her friend who passed away in November 2015. Kuyda used more than 10 thousand messages to develop the bot, combining those she had saved and those received by her friends.
Replika is the next evolutionary leap of that process, with the difference that users don't bring someone back from the beyond, but rather give shape to a copy of themselves, one chat at a time. Training is key: The best way to get your artificial avatar to know you better is by providing feedback to every published message. The mechanism is slow, but it helps optimize the quality of conversations in the future.
https://old.neoteo.com/ai-mayor-la-inteligencia-artificial-que-se-lanzo-como-alcalde-de-un-distrito-de-tokio/Of course, Replika has limits. For example, the app has a section dedicated to crisis situations, but if we are in danger, the recommendation is to seek help through traditional channels. At the same time, it can only hold conversations in English, and progress on including other languages has been slow so far. However, nothing prevents you from satisfying your curiosity. If you feel Replika is not for you, deleting the account is a matter of a few steps.
Official site: Click here
