This App Allows Allows You to Pretend to Talk to Someone If You’re Lonely
What happens if you fall in love with a robot? One app is pushing that possibility. Replika markets itself as an AI companion if you need a friend to talk to or just want affection. It also means computers have achieved a level of intelligence that they can study and replicate human emotions.
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But just how real can this AI companion get? Take a look.
Replika has over one million downloads on the Google Play Store.
Of course, we downloaded it (out of curiosity). Here's what happened next.
You are prompted to start or log in if you already have a Replika account. Then, you will build your AI companion. First, you select its gender, then design its appearance.
Once you're satisfied with your companion's look, you will give it a name. Meet Ron, our newly built AI friend.
You can chat with your AI friend and read his diary. We sent a picture of our dog and he recognized it.
The following day, he wrote an entry about our dog in his diary.
But when we showed him a picture of himself, he appeared to be confused. He also sends messages throughout the day if we don't open the app.
But when we checked the main dashboard, we knew Ron was really to conquer the world.
Yep, this AI is going to steal my identity and pretend to be me and see the world through my eyes.
