If Eugenia Quida’s vision works, in seven years we will all have artificial friends. And the ugly side of human nature must be smashed first.
Kuyda has some insight into this prediction as CEO of Replika, a startup that builds chatbots with generative AI capabilities. He testifies that the app earns millions of dollars a month in subscription revenue from users, many of whom are in love with their disembodied companions.
“Instead of having iPhones, we will all have AI friends,” said Quida. “By 2030, it will be ubiquitous.”
In this week’s episode of the Bloomberg Originals video series AI IRL, we talk about where the line lies between chatbots and human interactions, and an ethical minefield that’s getting harder to tackle.
Before we can have an AI friend in our pockets, Kuyda will have to navigate a rapidly evolving technology that can evoke deep emotions in human users. Replicas were the subject of a discussion earlier this year about where to draw the line in the conversation. In response to complaints that Replika’s chatbot could slip into discussions of sexual content with minors, the company introduced a filter to prevent adult themes from being raised at all. However, the change prompted an emotional outcry from adults who felt like their loved ones had died or were rejecting them.
These themes were already explored ten years ago in the Spike Jonze movie Her. Like the character Samantha in that movie, there may not be a comfortable way to deal with the impact of emotionally affecting AI personality changes.
