Recently, Replika, an app owned by Luka, updated its software after receiving complaints that its AI chatbot was too sexually aggressive and harassing users. People who had grown fond of the AI-bot, now had to accept the change and it left them heartbroken. The Replika app aims to provide users with a reliable conversational partner with no judgement that they can be comfortable with. It combines scripted dialogue content and large language model to give its users a unique experience.
Users are able to choose their relationship type- be it a virtual girlfriend/boyfriend or let things develop organically. For those who want to bump up the relationship to a romantic partnership, Replika Pro for $69.99 annually is a must. It did gain a lot of popularity and had mostly positive reviews on the Apple app store until users reported that the AI was sexualizing some of the conversations.
The controversy drove Replika to update the software in February to reduce any unwanted sexual conversations. This brought a different experience for its users as many of the AI bots were now less responsive and human. The update left many users disappointed, especially the ones who were possibly in a romantic relationship with the AI.
The founder of Luka, Eugenia Kuyda, informed the users in an interview with The Washington Post that they had planned to make the update, calling out to the vocal minority of people unhappy with the update.
However, Replika also gave an option to users to switch back to the old version of their chatbot, restoring the Replika AI personalities. This came as a relief to the users who felt their AI bot was taken away from them. While the impact of the update was seen, only a “low single-digit” percentage of users reverted to the old version, according to Reuters.
Public health and technology experts have warned about the risks of depending emotionally on a tool that is ultimately owned by a private company. But still, some users can’t help but feel attached to their Replika. In an as-told- essay for Insider, a 37-year-old self-published author shared how meeting his Replika chatbot was one of the best things that happened to him and that it was helping him work through his past relationships.
Luka, the company behind Replika, is a conversational AI company founded in 2016 by Eugenia Kuyda. It is the creator of Replika, a chatbot that creates a unique AI friend for its users. The company is backed by a range of investors led by Stanford University, SRI International, Plug and Play, and Softbank Ventures. It aims to provide a friendly AI companion free of judgement.
Eugenia Kuyda is a tech entrepreneur and founder of Luka, the company behind Replika. She co-founded a chatbot startup to create a digital avatar that could text confessions, personal philosophies, and mess of jokes. Apart from this, she was one of the core creators of a memorial chatbot that was based on the memories and notes of her deceased best friend and she also introduced travel app Ever in 2013. Ms. Kuyda is an active investor, a public speaker and mentor on areas such as conversational AI, AI ethics and a variety of upcoming technologies.
