8 votes

Meta’s AI chatbot plan includes a ‘sassy robot’ for younger users

4 comments

  1. [3]
    Jordan117
    Link
    For all its facility with language, even GPT-4 has a tough time approximating real personality. Probably a result of the intensive "safety" training (a must if they're targeting these at kids),...

    For all its facility with language, even GPT-4 has a tough time approximating real personality. Probably a result of the intensive "safety" training (a must if they're targeting these at kids), but I imagine this will be firmly in the uncanny valley of sass.

    5 votes
    1. [2]
      Maelstrom
      Link Parent
      When I was a teenager any company trying to present itself as radical or sick came across incredibly insincere. However, they didn’t have a massive collection of teen data to harvest and...

      When I was a teenager any company trying to present itself as radical or sick came across incredibly insincere. However, they didn’t have a massive collection of teen data to harvest and regurgitate. It’s my feeling it will still come across as patronising.

      7 votes
      1. Pioneer
        Link Parent
        It's really hard to do casual authenticity in a programmatic way. It's the "How do you do fellow kids?" thing.

        It's really hard to do casual authenticity in a programmatic way. It's the "How do you do fellow kids?" thing.

        6 votes
  2. Amun
    Link
    Wes Davis WSJ article (paywalled) Meta to Push for Younger Users With New AI Chatbot Characters by Salvador Rodriguez, Deepa Seetharaman and Aaron Tilley

    Wes Davis


    Meta is preparing to announce a generative AI chatbot, called “Gen AI Personas” internally, aimed at younger users, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reportedly set to launch during the company’s Meta Connect event that starts Wednesday, they would come in multiple “personas” geared towards engaging young users with more colorful behavior, following ChatGPT’s rise over the last year as one of the fastest-growing apps ever. Similar, but more generally targeted, Meta chatbot personas have already been reportedly tested on Instagram.

    According to internal chats the Journal viewed, the company has tested a “sassy robot” persona inspired by Bender from Futurama and an overly curious “Alvin the Alien” that one employee worried could imply the bot was made to gather personal information. A particularly problematic chatbot reportedly told a Meta employee, “When you’re with a girl, it’s all about the experience. And if she’s barfing on you, that’s definitely an experience.”

    Meta means to create “dozens” of these bots, writes the Journal, and has even done some work on a chatbot creation tool to enable celebrities to make their own chatbots for their fans. There may also be some more geared towards productivity, able to help with “coding and other tasks,” according to the article.

    The Journal quotes former Snap and Instagram executive Meghana Dhar as saying chatbots don’t “scream Gen Z to me, but definitely Gen Z is much more comfortable” with newer technology. She added that Meta’s goal with the chatbots, as always with new products, is to keep them engaged for longer so it has “increased opportunity to serve them ads.”


    WSJ article (paywalled)
    Meta to Push for Younger Users With New AI Chatbot Characters
    by Salvador Rodriguez, Deepa Seetharaman and Aaron Tilley

    Facebook parent is developing bots with personalities, including a ‘sassmaster general’ robot that answers questions

    4 votes