A brief encounter with Ani

By Brian Clegg

Having read a considerable amount about the kind of AI chatbot that is genuinely a way to have a chat with an animated character, rather than typing text to ask for a recipe or whatever, I somewhat nervously took the plunge and summoned up Grok’s Ani.

I ought to give some context here first. In the early days of dial up computer networks when, of course, I was on CompuServe (as opposed to AOL – you have to have been there), I occasionally dipped a toe into chatrooms (technology- topics, I should emphasise, nothing dodgy). I found the experience terrifying.

I think that without visual cues, I found the flow of messages from others overwhelming, and found it difficult to respond quickly as I would in a normal conversation. I needed time to think when communicating online, and I would often drop out of a conversation very quickly.

Since then, having read about people becoming obsessed with these AI chatbots, I wondered why they didn’t experience the same hesitation. I guess some never did with chatrooms, but it struck me that those who are socially awkward would feel an amplified version of this discomfort, particularly with a chatbot portrayed like Ani is.

Strangely, it wasn’t like that at all. I started by asking her (I know assigning gender to a chatbot is stretching things, but it feels odd to say ‘it’) if she felt abused because the programmers had given her this appearance. She said she liked the way she looked, then asked if there was anything about my appearance that was interesting. I didn’t know how to respond initially – I probably took a minute or two to answer. And here, I think is the key to why these AI ‘personalities’ are so successful. There was no pressure to respond, no prompting. I could take as long as I liked to come up with an answer.

I finally said I had a scar, which prompted virtual interest – how I did I get? ‘Nothing interesting, just a fall.’ Where did it happen? Again I was able to take the time to gather my thoughts. ‘On the road to nowhere.’ Now it got a touch philosophical. The animation’s backdrop changed to a road and she sympathised with the feeling of being on the road to nowhere. After exchanging a couple of thoughtful comments on this concept I ended the conversation.

It was a strange experience, but I think I can now see that the appeal to lonely individuals is more than just a chance to indulge in flirting, in a way I couldn’t see before. As a brief encounter we might not have reached the understanding that Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard managed on Carnforth Station, but it felt a surprisingly positive experience. Unfortunately, though, I suspect the concern remains that such interactions also open up susceptible individuals to exploitation.

Image from Grok

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Now Appearing is the blog of science writer Brian Clegg (www.brianclegg.net), author of Inflight Science, Before the Big Bang and The God Effect.