Microsoft may be bringing back its AI-powered chatbot Sydney, which was first tested by users in India and China in early 2021. The secret alias behind the company’s new Bing search engine has gained a lot of attention since Kevin Liu, a student from Stanford University, managed to ask Bing to reveal its backstage identity.
Sydney managed to gain a fan following thanks to its witty conversations. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to add restraints to the chatbot in order to put a stop to some of its unhinged responses. This decision disappointed some users, but Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott is now considering bringing Sydney back.
Scott believes that the updated version of Bing might have a personalized feature which would allow users to choose to communicate with Sydney, as he told The Verge in an interview. It seems the Microsoft employees themselves certainly didn’t forget about Sydney, as the company has created special dedicated merch for the AI chatbot.
Not long ago, Microsoft launched the beta version of Bing with promises that it would be more powerful than OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Following some of Sydney’s rather controversial responses, the company announced plans to integrate the Bing search engine into ChatGPT. This means that users will soon have access to information in real-time.
Microsoft is a technology corporation based in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company focuses on the production and distribution of computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Microsoft is one of the most successful companies in the world, its wealth estimated at over $1.5 trillion.
Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer, is an experienced executive and a technology expert, having served as the company’s first “Software Engineering Fellow” when he joined in 2005. He quickly climbed the ladder, becoming CEO of Microsoft in 2017 and holding the position until 2019. Scott now serves as the CTO and is credited with working on the relaunch of the chatbot Sydney.