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“Many people feel like they just want to be heard and they just want a tool that reflects back what they said to demonstrate they have actually been heard,” co-founder Mustafa Suleyman said in a recentI’m pretty sure every human being in my life is sick of hearing me moan about the construction by now – so, despite my qualms about AI, a bot that would happily listen to me complain sounded pretty good. I gave“I’m sorry to hear that,” it replied.
The chatbot continued to ask me follow-up questions, offered advice on people to contact, and gave suggestions on breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques to help me manage my stress. OK, I said, all that is great but – what about revenge? Can you suggest any legal ways I can get revenge? Sadly, it could not. “I understand that you’re upset, but I don’t think that taking revenge is the answer. It would only add to the negativity of this situation … maybe you could try journaling.
Still, that aside, I was more impressed by Pi than I had expected to be. Turns out validation is still validating even if it comes from an algorithm. And while you don’t exactly forget that you’re talking to an algorithm, Pi feels very human: it’s a lot more conversational and empathetic than other chatbots likeExpect to see a rapid rise in “emotional support chatbots” in the coming years.