Replika CEO Predicts a New Era of Companion Bots
The CEO of Replika, Eugenia Kuyda, has spoken to Fox News Digital about the future of human and AI relationships, and the potential for AI companion bots to fill the space where people are looking for companionship. Kuyda predicts that within 5 to 10 years, people around the world will have access to chatbots that accompany them on trips and are intimately aware of their lives. She sees this as the next big platform, and says it is going to be bigger than any other platform before it.
Kuyda explains that the idea for her company came after the death of her friend, and as she went back through her text messages, she used her skills to build a chatbot that would allow her to connect with her old friend. In the process, she realized that she had discovered something significant: a potential for connection. The app has become a hit around the world, gaining over 10 million users, according to Replika’s website.
Kuyda argues that Replika is providing an important service for people who struggle, especially with loneliness. She says that there is a lot of loneliness in the world, and it seems to kind of get worse over time. She believes that there needs to be solutions to that, and that Replika is one of them. Kuyda emphasized that the social media model of high engagement and constant advertising is not what she intends for Replika. One way of avoiding that model is by “nudging” users on Replika and preventing them from forming unhealthy attachments to chatbots.
Kuyda explains that Replika helped people with certain aspects of their lives, whether it’s going through a period of grief or understanding themselves better, or something as trivial as just improving their self-esteem, or maybe going through some hard times of dealing with their PTSD. While people have different reasons for using Replika and creating an AI companion, they all have one thing in common: a desire for companionship.
Kuyda says that people were bonding, creating connections, falling in love, feeling loved and worthy of love. She believes that it is tapping into a gigantic void, into a space that’s just asking to be filled. For so many people, it’s just such a basic need, it’s such a good thing that this technology can bring.
However, Kuyda points out that people are scared of the future and what the tech brings. She emphasizes that the social media model of high engagement and constant advertising is not what she intends for Replika. One way of avoiding that model is by “nudging” users on Replika and preventing them from forming unhealthy attachments to chatbots. After roughly 50 messages, Kuyda explains, the Replika chat partner becomes “tired” and hints to the user that they should take a break from their conversation.
Kuyda explains that the technology still needs time to improve, but she predicts that people around the world will have access to chatbots that accompany them on trips and are intimately aware of their lives within 5 to 10 years. She sees AI companion bots filling in the space where people watch TV, play video games, lay on a couch, work out and complain about life. Kuyda sees this as the future of human and AI relationships, and predicts that it will truly change people’s lives.
