Why Microsoft Is Creating a Friendly AI
By Movieguide® Contributor
Microsoft is trying to make its AI more approachable by making it respond in a friendly tone and having it offer emotion-filled responses to certain questions rather than just facts.
The new approach is coming as an update to its Copilot AI, which was one of the first AI chatbots to hit the market at the beginning of 2023. While Microsoft was one of the first players onto the AI scene, Copilot’s abilities have since been dwarfed by many of Microsoft’s competitors.
The company hopes that by providing users with friendly responses that feel more human, Copilot can regain its position as a leader in the field. This update is especially applicable to Copilot because Microsoft has launched a line of computers with the chatbot integrated into numerous features, meaning users are turning to the tech for more than just factual information.
“We’ve really crafted an AI model that is designed for conversation, so it feels more fluent, it’s more friendly,” Microsoft AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, told CNN. “It’s got, you know, real energy … Like, it’s got character. It pushes back occasionally, it can be a little bit funny, and it’s really optimizing for this long-term conversational exchange, rather than a question-answer thing.”
By making Copilot feel more alive, Microsoft believes users will begin to think of it as a handy companion that can help with tasks it is directed to do.
“You’re going to ask your AI companion to remember it, or to buy it, or to book it, or to help me plan it, or to teach me it … It’s going to be a confidence boost, it’s going to be there to back you up, it’s going to be your hype man, you know?” Suleyman said. “It’s going to be present across many, many surfaces, like all of your devices, in your car, in your home, and it really will start to live life alongside you.”
The chatbot will also mirror the energy brought by users, matching their tone to meet them where they are at. This is a feature already present in many AI chatbots which explains why users should consider how they are communicating with the tech.
Movieguide® previously reported:
A recent poll revealed the percentage of Americans who treat AI with politeness and respect and how many people are rude to it.
The poll revealed that the most common attitude towards AI is to treat it with proper manners; 44% of people said “I’m polite — I say hello, please and thank you and ask things nicely in general.”
Conversely, only 7% of respondents admitted “I’m sometimes impolite — I’ll swear or be abrupt with AI.” Meanwhile, 25% are “not polite, but I’m to the point — I ask and expect an answer,” and 24% chose the “none of the above” option.
The attitude towards AI was markedly different between younger and older generations. Fifty-six percent of Gen Zers are polite to the tech, while only 39% of boomers took this approach.
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +2