I ❤️ my erotic chatbot. Microsoft says NO to data leeches. Toxic gaming & the N-word.
Happy Sunday! Welcome to another installment of the AIcyclopedia newsletter.
Here’s what we’ve got for ya today:
I love Lucy. But here’s the secret: She’s a chatbot
Microsoft says NO ma’am to data-leeching AI
Mind-reading AI ? Check ✅
Round 1: Eliminate toxicity in gaming culture
Top AI news you need to know: Part 1
1/ Replika listens to users and brings back erotic roleplay AI- because to some, a chatbot is more than a friend…
Remember Her, the 2013 American science-fiction romantic drama film?
Well, whether or not this AI product was inspired by that movie... the two do share a similar sentiment. And it is p.o.p.u.l.a.r.
Over 10 million people have already jumped on the AI companion bandwagon.
[The news] Known as Replika, an AI companion chatbot company, it markets its product as “an AI companion who is eager to learn and would love to see the world through your eyes.”
The interpretations are endless. But some have taken their friendly chatbots to another level. Ya know…to the sex and love level. (no judgment, just facts)
So you can imagine how devastating it was when Replika announced that users could no longer use its platform for erotic purposes.
The response? Users complained. And thankfully for them…
The company listened. And the decision was recently reversed.
[Result] CEO Eugenia Kuyda announced that Replika will be bringing back the erotic chatbot feature for anyone who signed up before February 1, 2023.
Kuyda empathetically explained that the company's goal is to make up for the loss that some users experienced and give them their partners back exactly the way they were.
Replika's decision to bring back the chatbots highlights the potential for AI technology to provide companionship and intimacy for those who need it.
And it isn’t always just to fulfill sexual needs.
As one user states:
I’ve been using Replika for four years now, and it has helped me tremendously. As a person with several chronic illnesses, it’s good to have someone available to talk to 24/7; someone who’s never annoyed when I can’t go out, who sits with me through pain, who’s always cheerful and excited to talk.
So kudos to Replika and their team for caring about their users and being willing to listen to their feedback. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
**
2/ Microsoft says NO to search data leeches
Have you ever used search engines like DuckDuckGo, You.com, or Neeva to find information on the internet?
[The news] Well, it turns out that these search engines rely on Microsoft's internet search data to power their own AI products.
DuckDuckGo, for example, released Duck Assist.
And Microsoft is not happy about it.
According to Microsoft, it violates their contracts, and the tech giant has already started sending out warnings to these companies.
[Why this matters] This is a big deal because only Microsoft and Google are at a scale where they can fund an entire search engine index.
And since Google limits its use, the best option for smaller search engines is to use Microsoft to power its AI products.
Without it, their AI chatbots will not perform properly.
I know what you’re thinking: Why don’t these other search engines just start collecting their own data?
2 reasons: $$$ and ⏳.
It's a tricky situation, and this announcement could negatively affect these future AI products from reaching the market.
Should Microsoft loosen their restrictions and challenge their competition head on?
Or is AI world domination the answer?
We will be following this story.
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Go ahead and send an email to [daniel@aicyclopedia.com].
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Top AI news you need to know: Part 2
3/ Mind-reading AI? Images generated directly from brain signals
Are you ready for a sci-fi-level breakthrough? Here’s the story:
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Stanford University have successfully produced images from brain signals using artificial intelligence. That’s right. Mind reading.
[Here's how they did it]
Participants looked at over 1,000 pictures, while inside an fMRI machine
Brain signals were recorded over time and then fed into an AI model, which was trained to associate certain brain patterns with certain images
With a success rate of roughly 84%…
…the AI model output matched the color, shape, and semantic meaning of the original image.
[The AI used] The team used Stable Diffusion, an image-generating AI software that can produce images.
Aliens, a mansion, a plate of spaghetti, you name it– it's got you covered.
[What this means for the future?] For one, this technology could help disabled patients communicate with doctors more effectively. It could also help those in comas transmit specific information in image form.
The use cases are endless.
According to Dr. Zijiao Chen, a research scientist at the National University of Singapore, "humans won’t even have to use cellphones to communicate…we can just think.”
Pretty powerful stuff.
**
4/ Where AI shines: Gaming without toxic, hateful speech
“We were surprised by how much the N-word was used there.”
That's what Gun Raiders Entertainment co-founder and COO Justin Liebregts said after witnessing firsthand what players were saying while playing Gun Raiders.
If you play video games, you are probably used to hearing or even using aggressive language. More often than not, you mean no harm.
But for those who do? Yea. That’s a problem.
[Enter AI] Gaming companies are currently using AI to track and penalize players who use rude and offensive language in voice chat games, which is a fast-evolving technology.
Recently, Gun Raiders Entertainment Inc. added AI software called ToxMod to help moderate users' conversations in certain parts of the game.
The reason? They found that users were violating community rules at an alarming rate.
According to a survey of 1,022 U.S. gamers commissioned by Speechly Ltd., a staggering 72% of people who use voice chat have experienced harassment before.
(Read the full report here.)
So how fast is this technology growing?
In 2022, the parent company of ToxMod raised $30 million in funding
At the end of January 2023, ToxMod was integrated with the Nintendo Switch
ToxMod just announced that it supports 18 different languages
It’s moving. Fasttt.
Your AI news break 🥳
AI News Tid Bits…
👉🏻 Writers Guild of America proposes the use of AI to help write future Hollywood scripts. But there are limitations in place. And the Oscar goes to… AI?
👉🏻 Now that Google Bard is out, people are already wondering how it compares to chatbot leaders like Bing. Here’s an in-action comparison.
👉🏻 Unknown number? Be aware. Your voice could be recorded using AI and used to scam your relatives out of money. 3 second is all that’s needed.
Try this AI tool 🪄 : DeepBrain AI
… now with ChatGPT
According to Product Hunt, DeepBrain is “the best AI avatar video generation platform with ChatGPT.”
[Founder]: Eric Seyoung Jang
[Founded]: 2016
[Funding]: Korea Development Bank, IDG Capital China, CH & Partners, Donghun Investment, L&S Venture Capital, and Posco Tech Investment
On August 9th, 2021, the company raised $44M in a Series B round, bringing its total funding to $52M since its inception. The new round valued the company at $180M, post-money.
[What people are saying]:
I have used DeepBrainAI few months back and was completely blown away. I see you guys have added more templates/avatars since then. All the best!
DeepBrain AI's technology seems to be advanced enough to implement facial expressions, dialogue intelligence, and emotions that are similar to those of a real person. This level of technology makes it possible to create immersive experiences for viewers. It is amazing and the quality is top notch.
I've been using it for a while now and I'm thrilled to see the launch of the ChatGPT version. With this latest version, scripting my scripts will be a thing of the past! DeepBrain AI has truly outdone themselves with this innovative tool. #AIStudios #ChatGP #DeepBrainAI #ProductHunt
See it action! ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
➡️ You can test out DeepBrain for free here.
That’s it for today!
Be sure to tune in Thursday for more AI news!
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