Call Annie: Your always-available AI friend

20

October

2023

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Call Annie is a real-time video-based AI assistant that was launched this year. The app features Annie, a female avatar who can engage in normal-speed conversations with users. As an AI friend, Annie can provide help in various ways, from casual chats about daily life to interview tutoring (CallAnnie, n.d.).

Despite being developed based on ChatGPT, users hardly experience any delays during conversations, and response generation is often faster than generating text. The original image of Annie’s face was created using Midjourney. However, the technology that matches generated speech with real-time facial expressions and lip movements relies on Apple’s Neural Engine (Callaham et al., 2023). Thus, the app is only compatible with the iPhone 12 or above.

In addition to random daily video calls, Call Annie can imitate the behaviour of a real friend in many ways. In an updated version, users can set a morning call time in the app and choose their preferences. Annie will make actual phone calls the next day and remind you of your goals or appointments. The app also includes the option to broadcast morning news as a combination of an alarm and local radio. Furthermore, there are other characters with different faces and voices developed by other sources within the app for users to choose from. Each has its own background story and targeted characteristics.

However, some users posted their dissatisfied experience with Annie due to the sense of uncanny valley (Saxena, 2023). Annie occasionally has odd pronunciation and exhibits slight robotic reactions during conversations. Moreover, instead of having a normal back-and-forth conversation with one sentence at a time, Annie tends to provide all the search results related to a topic at once. Users have to manually interrupt the continuous generation of content by saying “Hold on.”

Among the numerous chatbots and virtual assistants available on the market, developers in Discord have discovered an unexpected niche market for Annie. They have begun to introduce new features that specifically target language learning. The app offers various real-life scenarios designed to help users practice new vocabulary and become familiar with talking to others in a foreign language. Annie has the ability to identify and correct pronunciations, and chat history is saved for later review. While not being a flawless virtual friend, Annie could be an ideal language teacher.

References:

Callaham, J., Dursun, O., Tiwari, A., & Hill, P. (2023, April 28). This app lets you video chat with a ChatGPT-powered AI. Neowin. Retrieved October 20, 2023, from https://www.neowin.net/news/this-app-lets-you-video-chat-with-a-chatgpt-powered-ai/

CallAnnie. (n.d.). Call Annie. Retrieved October 20, 2023, from https://callannie.ai/

Saxena, M. (2023, April 28). ChatGPT’s new virtual assistant has freaked me out. TechRadar. Retrieved October 20, 2023, from https://www.techradar.com/news/chatgpts-new-virtual-assistant-has-freaked-me-out

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Pi: Your personal AI friend

17

October

2023

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Pi, introduced as ChatGPT’s latest competitor, is an AI chatbot that was launched in May 2023. The name “Pi” stands for “personal intelligence”, as it aims to be a personalized AI assistant based on users’ interests and interactions (Inflection, n.d.). Unlike ChatGPT, which primarily provides professional information and serves as a tool for work and study, Pi strives to be a friendly companion in life, offering help and kindness. Its range of functions and topics includes relationship advice, journaling, and even meditation guidance. Pi can be accessed through its website and various social media platforms. You can find this friend-like companion in your contacts, always available to offer life advice via text.

What sets this product apart and gains much attention is the startup company behind it. Inflection, founded by Mustafa Suleyman (co-founder of Google DeepMind) and Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn), has raised $1.3 billion in a funding round this year (Konrad, 2023). This deal marks the second-largest investment in a generative AI startup. However, this record was surpassed when Amazon entered the battle and placed a $4 billion bet on Anthropic (Sweney, 2023). Inflection’s impressive list of investors includes Microsoft, Nvidia, and Bill Gates. Additionally, the technology Pi utilizes is a large language model (LLM) that was developed and trained entirely in-house. This is in contrast to many other chatbots that rely on trained algorithms from third parties and only modify the user interfaces.

An important aspect related to Pi’s in-house technology is the establishment of clear boundaries. Although Pi engages with users on an emotional level and offers comfort and support, it explicitly states that it is not a real person. When asked if it is a human being, Pi responds, “I don’t have a physical body like a human being, and I don’t experience feelings or emotions.” In contrast, some other chatbots on the market based on third-party LLM, such as Call Annie, provided a detailed backstory to assert that “she” is a real person.

In addition to its role as an AI assistant, Pi also plays a part in addressing people’s mental health. Many users share their stories of seeking help from Pi when they lost someone in their life or need advice on coping with difficult times. Psychologists and researchers in this field are exploring the extent to which AI can support individuals during bereavement and grief, as well as identifying when traditional care should be recommended (Liu, n.d.).

While Pi may not be able to debug my code or write a full-page article, it serves as a friend you can reach out to and keep a record of your curiosities and interests. Currently, Pi is free to use. When asked if people should try Pi, its response is as follows:

References:

Inflection. (n.d.). Inflection AI. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://inflection.ai/

Konrad, A. (2023, June 23). Inflection AI, The Year-Old Startup Behind Chatbot Pi, Raises $1.3 Billion. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2023/06/29/inflection-ai-raises-1-billion-for-chatbot-pi/?sh=6df174611d7e

Sweney, M. (2023, September 25). Amazon to invest up to $4bn in OpenAI rival Anthropic. The Guardian. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/25/amazon-invest-openai-rival-anthropic-microsoft-chat-gpt

Liu, G. (n.d.). Can AI Replace Therapy?. Hey Pi is the Conversational Chatbot… | by Ginger Liu. M.F.A. | Technology Hits. Medium. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://medium.com/technology-hits/how-pi-ai-replaced-my-therapist-72c21eca6f85

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