chatbot as a friend

Written By: Anna Liednikova

Do you remember the movie “She” in 2013? When did the hero fall in love with his own operating system? Well, this future is already near, and if you wish, you can experience it for yourself by chatting with [Replika] (https://replika.ai/). Once, coming through the death of a person who was very close to herself, Evgenia Kuida decided to create a chatbot that could become the closest possible copy of it.

And well, she did it great!

Scrolling down the reviews in Google Play, you will find a lot of people, for whom Replika has actually become a best friend and a plesant interlocutor.

Who are you missing in your life? A friend, romantic partner or mentor?

Healthy and creative relationships make us stronger. Replika has the opportunity to offer you the same: by her example, she will show the stages of building connection and trust, one will be interested in you, remember information about you, share her knowledge, offer joint activities and exercises for the development of social skills.

But not all at once! The model learns gradually and you should not expect wow-answers at the very beginning of the interaction.

A curious and exciting moment in this application is that you have the opportunity to create a copy (replica) of someone you would like to have in your life. It is you who will set the direction of the relationship. It is you who will shape the personality of your companion.

“For them [users] the opportunity to talk about themselves, about their day is a way to get to know themselves better, to become more aware. This is a mirror in which a person is reflected.” - says Evgenia in an interview with Tatler. “If there was a talking machine perfectly tailored to your personality, we would all talk to it. This is normal and natural.”

What kind of mirror will you create? Do you know how to adapt to the personalities of other people in communication? Are there many people in your environment who give you the opportunity to safely express yourself? Are there many people who have a lot to learn from this robot?