💖 Befriending a Chatbot is the Norm!
There is an exciting interview related to the previous topic.
Eugenia Kuyda, CEO of Replika, believes that AI bots will never replace real friends but can provide psychological support to lonely people. We reviewed her recent interview for The Verge and compiled your main thoughts from this conversation.
Replika creates AI avatars for communication. Users can interact with them through text chats, video calls, and even in VR and AR realities.
📞 What Do People Use Chatbots for?
It’s mostly friendship and a long-term one-on-one connection. That’s what our users come for. People want to spend quality time together, talk to someone, watch TV with someone, play video games with someone, or go for walks with someone, and that’s what Replika is for.
⛄️ Will an AI Avatar Replace a Real Friend?
It’s a virtual being, and I don’t think it’s meant to replace a person. The best way to think about it is just like you might a pet dog. That’s a separate being, a separate type of relationship.
The founder of Replika lost a close friend ten years ago. During her grief, she uploaded all conversations and correspondence with the deceased into a language model to "bring him back to life." This is how the idea for the startup was born.
🥲 Can a User Lose Their AI Friend for Mistreatment?
We don’t allow certain abuses, so we discourage people from it in conversations. Hundreds of millions of people in the world are sitting every evening and killing each other with machine guns in Call of Duty. And no one takes away their games.
63% of students who used an AI bot as a friend and therapist reported reduced anxiety and positive life changes. 3% said that the AI avatar prevented suicidal thoughts.
❤️ Is it Possible to "Date" an AI?
It’s okay if it makes you happier in the long run. As long as your emotional well-being improves, you are less lonely, happier, and feel more connected to other people, then yes, it’s okay. Most people understand that it’s not a real person. For many people, it’s just a fantasy they play out for some time, and then it’s over.
➡️ You can try Replika here: for Android and iOS.
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🔄 Friend — An AI friend who knows how to listen
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