The recently introduced AI companions are the hot talk everywhere. Not just a clear depiction of how much and how fast the world of artificial intelligence is developing, but also a way out for the people who prefer to avoid engaging with people around them. What exactly are AI companions? An AI companion is a chatbox, designed specifically for people who suffer from the feeling of loneliness, but people have been using it for various purposes. From writing drafts, and summarizing books, to giving suitable replies to your messages… it can do it all! Thus, they aren’t just any ordinary computer-based programs to provide one with companionship and assistance but we have seen people interact with them in natural language conversations as if they are their best friends. Talking to AI companions refers to using the chat box and engaging in text-based conversations. Though, the feature of interacting through voice notes has also been introduced people haven’t started to use it like the chat box. These AI bots are designed in a way, that they interact like any of your friends would do so. They play multiple roles (in accordance with whatever is needed) e.g. for entertainment purposes, companionship, offer assistance, or even act formally as if you’re business partners. There are several key points that contribute to the rise in the number of people relying on AI companions e.g. recently many advancements were made in natural language processing which not only improved the ability of AI bots to understand human language more effectively but also generated a reply similar to the person tone, language, the reason why the person needs the companions and much more. This is why the conversations are so realistic. The integration of AI companions is seen everywhere from our smartphones, speakers, and home appliances to our televisions e.g. Google Assistant in Android and Siri in Mac phones. In speakers Alexa has become a source of interaction we see nearly every day in our daily lives. According to a survey more than 50 percent of the people who interact with AI companions think of them as a caterer of emotional support and connection every person needs e.g. ‘My AI’ in Snapchat is designed in a way that rather than just being a chat box we can dress and modify our bots avatar, and rather than just being an AI companion it also offers as a listening year because of its user-friendly nature. As we see Artificial technology continuing to make advancements, we should surely expect to see better versions of these bots with each passing day. With time, the use of these AI companions will be seen multiplied by 100 percent, and they’ll further understand and adapt to the needs of human beings even better. While we see the trend of AI companions rapidly increase with each passing day, it’s integral to know how useful they are, and what you need to be careful of. In the following article, you’ll get to know about the pros and cons of chatting with AI characters, be it on any app, how can you make it of full use, and why use the Socialbook's new playground AI. Let’s get started!
The Pros of Chatting with AI Companions
In today's era, where digital communication is most preferable, how we connect and communicate plays a really important role in our lives. Communication and its ways keep evolving with time and recently we have seen a few major transformations, and the AI companions are on the top of the list. They offer a plethora of pros be it for one's personal or professional life. Let’s take a look at what are the benefits of these bots generated by artificial intelligence and explore the profound impact they have on our everyday life.
1. Emotional Support
While people are so caught up in their lives in today's world, everyone looks forward to a good listener and someone who helps them sort their problems out. A few words of kindness, or just telling them how you are always there for them can change one entire day, and surprisingly the AI companions are doing a decent job of providing humans with emotional support. They listen to their problems through the chat box, engage in conversations, ask them more, and eventually become a source people start valuing with time. The best thing is that people don’t fear being judged while talking to AI companions thus, they surely are a good source whenever you need comfort and no one close to you is available to whom you can pour your heart out. No matter what the problems are, you’ll always have a non-judgemental listening ear!
2. Convenience and Availability
The way talking to and engaging in conversations with AI companions is so easy makes it so much more reliable and fun. Unlike us, humans they don’t have any physical or emotional needs, so they’re available 24/7. Whether you wake up in the middle of the night and suddenly have the urge to share how you feel with someone or are exhausted because of work purposes, AI companions are always available to interact with, within a second. A fun fact is, that if you want them to write you a professional email, proposal, or any similar thing now, help is instantly on its way!
3. Customization and Personalization
AI companions are designed in a way that they fill the plate of every single person. They are highly adaptable and engage with you the way you need at that specific moment. The more you talk to them, the more they generate relevant responses suiting your preference. This makes sure, that the AI companion matches your energy, mood, personality, and interest. In addition, they are designed to use features such as deep learning and machine learning. The feature of customization and personalization makes the interaction between you and the bot much more engaging and interactive.
The Cons of Chatting with AI Companions
The strong presence of AI in our daily lives has greatly impacted how we perceive certain things. While the AI companions are solely designed to make things easier for humans, be it virtual assistants, chatboxes, and other AI bots… like every other thing, they also have their drawbacks. No matter what the app or feature is, we always need to make sure to take a look at the limitations and ethical concerns associated with the use of something so a balanced integration can be maintained. Let’s explore!
1. Lack of Genuine Emotion
Though the AI companions were designed to give humans a sense of emotional support, one of the major drawbacks is the inability of most people to feel and look at the AI bot the same way they would sharing something with a close friend. Thus, while the responses seen in the chatbox might show great empathy and emotions at some point one does realize that are response generated is programmed and the interactions are driven by algorithms. Because the emotions shown by the companion aren’t genuine, the users tend to be dissatisfied. Moreover, this also is a major reason behind an increased urge in people to develop true connections, and genuinely express feelings to their close ones, as AI surely can’t give the same feeling. If we look at the other side of this, a few times people mistake the responses generated in the chat box with genuine feelings and start to get emotionally attached. This leads to the specific person relying upon an AI companion way too much and expecting it to respond to their emotions like how their best friend would. Moreover, this also greatly affects the human relations of that person as he can no longer differentiate between the artificial relation he has built with AI and his relation with the people around him. This can greatly affect the emotional well-being of a person thus, make sure to differentiate between both these relations.
2. Ethical Concerns
There are certain ethical concerns related to AI companions as well. Sometimes people end up sharing more information than they actually should which puts their privacy at risk. The personal information gathered to modify the responses of the AI companion can end up with the user's data being misused, and getting unauthorized access. Thus, maintaining a balance between protecting your privacy and personalization can be challenging but shouldn’t be ignored.
3. Dependency and Social Isolation
Once users start interacting with AI companions and engage in enjoyable conversations they start becoming over-reliant on it. This greatly affects certain aspects of their lives e.g. their productivity level drops to a great extent because of being too indulged in conversations. Not only this, the person keeps looking forward to AI to provide emotional support and offer companionship which eventually leads to decreased interaction between the person and his peers, friends, and family. This not only hinders the personal growth of the person but also takes away the ability to adapt to his daily chores without an AI companion. To avoid such intense effects, one needs to set priorities in life and understand the fact that meaning one's relationship with loved ones, AI can not replace it rather if used excessively with time it gives one the feeling of emptiness.
SocialBook’s New Playground AI
Social book is one of the websites that keep introducing all the latest tools, and advancements that too for free! SocialBook's new Playground AI is an innovative platform that you can use to experience interacting with AI companions. You can personalize your companion and make it resemble your best friend, a favorite character from a movie, videogame, or even anime! Moreover, the communication isn’t just limited to chatbox, it allows you to interact through voice messages, and even share pictures to get exciting compliments. Moreover, one of the latest technologies, image generation through AI technology is also offered on this amazing platform. This particular feature can wake up the artist inside you and you can create descriptions for amazing artwork/photographs. In the near future, you can expect exciting new features coming your way too! From interacting with AI celebrities, influencers, or even relatives who have passed away (recreating interactions you previously had with them). However, don’t forget to keep in mind your privacy and ethics while using the website and similar features. Understanding the importance of using a platform responsibly is a necessity to avoid any problems. Make the experience safe and fun!
The Future of AI Companionship
As we have seen advancements that humans couldn’t even think of a few years ago, we are sure artificial intelligence will make lots of new promising developments soon too e.g. making the interaction with AI feel more realistic and emotionally satisfying, especially for people who seek help. The features we currently use have limitations and still need modifications thus, we can surely expect AI companions to understand what we say even better with time. Thus, betterment in all aspects will be seen which will make AI companions more empathetic and supportive. To take this companionship to another level the integration of physical robots can be expected so there will be more ways of interaction between the AI companions and humans and even better assistance will be provided. Striking a balance between the benefits and potential pitfalls of this technology is crucial.
In Conclusion, as Artificial intelligence keeps updating and introducing new features, the future holds really exciting possibilities for all of us. After AI companions we can see the launch of physical robots to assist humans in their everyday life tasks in the near future. A user needs to keep in mind the pros and cons of using AI companion to make full use of the advancement while protecting their emotions and ethical aspects. Make sure to try new and innovative platforms e.g. SocialBooks New Playground AI to discover the best. We hope you enjoyed the article. For any queries or to read more such content log on to socialbook.io.
