Recently, the picture messaging app Snapchat has made an announcement – their new chatbot, My AI, is now available to all users. My AI runs on Open AI’s GPT technology, designed to emulate a conversation with a friend. But although this new feature can provide perks like offering recommendations for nearby restaurants, many users are unhappy about its presence. Many of them are complaining that My AI has taken up valuable real estate on the user’s Chat feed – providing a central position above even pinned and recently snapped friends. Following the launch of My AI, there has been an influx of 1-star reviews on Snapchat, indicating the dissatisfaction of its users.
Additionally, privacy remains a primary concern for many, as My AI uses information collected about each user in order to generate its conversations. Its access to the users’ locations seems to be the most worrying aspect as its recommendations appear to be based on this exact information. Moreover, issues have been raised a month before the worldwide launch of My AI after the chatbot offered inappropriate and unsafe responses to teenagers who tried to engage with it.
Despite the problems surrounding My AI, some users have already grown close to the chatbot, with some even claiming it to be their “best friend” or “homie”. The Uber-like bot has even been used by some to complete their homework.
The company Snapchat, originally launched in 2011 by co-founders Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown, has seen massive success in recent years, with over 302 million users in 2020. It is seen as the pioneer in the ephemeral messaging genre as its primary feature is photos and videos that disappear shortly after being viewed. Undoubtedly, the introduction of My AI is yet another innovative step for the company.
The person mentioned in the article is CEO of Open AI, Sam Altman. Open AI is an AI research laboratory, founded in 2015 and championed by Altman, to promote artificial research and benefit humanity. The organisation is responsible for the technology behind Snapchat’s My AI chatbot. Open AI have previously developed other groundbreaking AIs including GPT-3, NetHack, and Evolved Transformer.
