Google is reportedly constructing new AI-powered chatbots based mostly on celebrities and YouTube influencers. The thought isn’t groundbreaking — startups like Character.ai and corporations like Meta have merchandise like this — however neither is to this point.
Google’s superstar chatbots will likely be powered by the corporate’s Gemini household of huge language fashions in line with The Info, which on Monday. The corporate is attempting to strike partnerships with influencers in addition to celebrities, and can be engaged on a function that may let individuals create their very own chatbots just by describing their personalities and look — one thing that Character.ai already . A enjoyable truth: Noam Shazeer, one of many co-founders of Character.ai, is a former Google engineer and of “transformers,” the elemental tech that made at the moment’s generative AI doable.
It isn’t but clear which celebrities or influencers Google may accomplice with. Meta’s chatbots, as an example, are based mostly on personalities like TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, YouTube phenomenon Mr. Beast, Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady and Paris Hilton amongst others, whereas Character.ai’s characters embrace politicians, philosophers, fictional characters, and even objects like a block of cheese that talks. Google’s challenge is reportedly being led by a longtime govt referred to as Ryan Germick who works on Google Doodles, and a staff of ten.
It additionally appears like Google’s bots could possibly be simply an experiment — in line with the report, the bots may solely present up on Google Labs, the corporate’s web site for experimental merchandise, as a substitute of being out there extra broadly.
It isn’t clear why Google’s doing this. Meta’s AI chatbots based mostly on celebrities by no means actually took off regardless of the corporate stuffing them in each product it makes. As The Info identified, the corporate’s chatbot based mostly on Snoop Dogg has solely 15,000 followers on Instagram in contrast with 87.5 million followers who comply with the human rapper.
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