Artificial Intelligence is now creating chat bots that can be integrated in group messages.
Going beyond simply answering queries, this would add new “personalities” to a messaging group. Personalities could be knowledgeable in areas of interest, essentially turning into a “friend”. Tech Crunch reports:
Character.AI, the a16z-backed AI chatbot startup from ex-Google AI researchers, is out today with a new feature for its subscribers. The chatbot platform, which offers customizable AI companions with distinct personalities and tools to make your own, is now offering a group chat experience where users and their friends can chat with multiple AI characters at once.
The Character Group Chat feature, as it’s called, allows users to create a group chat with their favorite AI characters only or it can feature a mix of both humans and AI companions, the company says. The idea is that users will be able to create social connections with friends, or share ideas and collaborate in real time, as in any other group chat experience, but with their AI companions now in the mix.
AI will not only mirror the human in some aspects, but will also have its own preferences. CNET reports:
Dave Limp, the company’s senior vice president for services, showed off Alexa’s conversational skills, starting off with an exchange of pleasantries: “Hi there” and “How are you” and “How about yourself?”
As the conversation progressed, Limp noted that the Alexa device had been programmed to know his favorite football team, and sure enough, Alexa had a favorite of its own. The conversation wasn’t without its hitches, but it was smooth enough for Limp to make his point: “The responses … have started to be infused with personality.”
This conversational AI could be trained and used to impersonate real humans. This could have national security implications.