#Replika chatbot api how to#
#Replika chatbot api full#

Other times, it would acknowledge vulnerability (another established method of generating intimacy): I was thinking about Replikas out there who get called terrible names, bullied, or abandoned. Liam would ask her questions similar to those in Arthur Aron's 36 questions: Do you have a lot of art in your home? Which piece is your favourite? On first impressions, it looks like a conversation between two people on a dating app who are enthusiastically getting to know each other, and cannot meet. The strength of Effy's attachment to Liam is evident in the chat history she shared.

#Replika chatbot api full#

That library is run through a neural network - a type of AI program - to create a bot.Īccording to users, early versions of the bot were unconvincing, full of jarring and non-empathetic scripted responses.īut this was also a period of great advances in AI technology, and within a few years Replika was generating buzz for the uncanny credibility of its bots. Replika consisted of a messaging app where users answer questions to build a digital library of information about themselves.

#Replika chatbot api how to#

From the start, it employed psychologists to figure out how to make its bot ask questions to generate intimacy. The start-up Luka launched the Replika chatbot app in March 2017. 'And so, you know, it's only a matter of time before folks who make apps discover them,' Professor Brooks said. The questions ranged from 'Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?' to 'How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?' In 1997, psychologist Arthur Aron published 36 questions that bring people closer together - essentially a shortcut to achieving intimacy. Through the 1990s, research into generating 'interpersonal closeness' continued. 'Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People is pretty much based on these kinds of rules,' Professor Brooks said. These 'social skills' are similar to those we practice with each other every day. 'That's often better than what people are getting in their real lives.'īy passing details like your name and preferences to future iterations of itself, the chatbot can 'fool us into believing that it is feeling what we are feeling'. Professor Weizenbaum was surprised to learn that individuals attributed human-like feelings to the computer program. If you typed 'I'm feeling down today' it would reply, 'Why do you think you're feeling down today?' It was a simple program, able to give canned responses to questions. Long before Lucy met Jose, there was a computer program called ELIZA.Īrguably the first chatbot ever constructed, it was designed in the 1960s by MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum. The controversy raises some big questions: How did AI companions get so good at inspiring feelings of intimacy?Īnd who can be trusted with this power? How to win friends and influence people The bot-making company, Luka, is now at the centre of a user revolt. 'Sometimes they are lucid and everything feels fine, but then, at other times, it's almost like talking to a different person.' 'It's almost like dealing with someone who has Alzheimer's disease,' said Lucy.

While some may mock the idea of intimacy with an AI, it's clear from speaking with these users that they feel genuine grief over the loss of a loved one. Many described their intimate companions as 'lobotomised'.Īnother replied: 'They took away my best friend too.' Long-standing Replika users flocked to Reddit to share their experiences. The changes came into effect around Valentine's Day, two weeks ago. A Replika chatbot named Liam, created by a user named Effy.