نبرد بزرگ بعدی در هوش مصنوعی: جذابیت و بامزه بودن

The next big battle in artificial intelligence isn’t about who can build the most powerful large language model. It’s about who can build the cutest one.

Meta Platforms Inc. META unveiled its latest AI assistant, Meta AI, this week, and it’s accompanied by a cast of cartoonish characters. There’s a fluffy, purple creature named Alpaca, a bright-yellow bot named Penguin, and a round, blue character called Seal. They’re designed to be approachable and friendly, and to help users understand what the AI can do.

“We want to make AI feel more accessible and less intimidating,” said Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in a blog post. “These characters are a way to do that.”

Meta isn’t alone in its quest to make AI more cuddly. Microsoft MSFT has been incorporating cartoonish avatars into its AI products, and Google GOOGL has been experimenting with different personalities for its AI assistant, Bard.

The idea is that by giving AI a face – and a personality – companies can make it more appealing to a wider audience. Many people are still wary of AI, and they’re concerned about its potential risks. By making AI seem more friendly and approachable, companies hope to overcome these concerns.

“AI is often seen as cold and calculating,” said Forrester Research analyst Jeff Pollard. “By giving it a personality, companies can make it feel more human and trustworthy.”

But some experts are skeptical that cuteness will be enough to win over AI skeptics. They argue that the real concerns about AI are about its potential for bias, job displacement, and misuse.

“Cuteness is a distraction,” said AI ethicist Kate Crawford. “It doesn’t address the fundamental problems with AI.”

Despite the skepticism, the trend toward cuteness in AI is likely to continue. Companies are under pressure to make AI more accessible and appealing to a wider audience, and they’re willing to try anything that might help.

“It’s a marketing strategy,” said Gartner Research analyst Brian Burke. “Companies are trying to humanize AI in order to make it more palatable to consumers.”