Zoom enters the conversational AI arena 

Zoom is getting into the conversational AI arena with the launch of Zoom Virtual Agent.

The chatbot solution aims to improve how businesses assist their customers and employees by delivering fast and highly-personalised responses.

“Every leader I speak to is seeking dual outcomes from their CX technology: superior omnichannel resolutions for their customers and an improved bottom line,” said Mahesh Ram, Head of Digital Customer Experience at...

27 January 2023 | Applications

Meta’s chatbot hates Facebook and loves right-wing conspiracies

A chatbot called BlenderBot was launched by Meta on Friday and it’s already been corrupted by the darker parts of the web.

To ease us in with the odd but harmless, BlenderBot thinks it’s a plumber:

https://t.co/KWEHxoXpqg also has thoughts on the Deep State and thinks it’s a plumber. I did not suggest this. pic.twitter.com/SbOj7hziSg

— Jeff Horwitz (@JeffHorwitz) August 7, 2022

Like many of us, BlenderBot criticises how Facebook...

10 August 2022 | Artificial Intelligence

The NHS hopes an AI chatbot will help tackle patient wait times

An NHS trust in Liverpool is partnering with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop an AI chatbot to help tackle patient wait times.

Brits have become used to long NHS wait times for many years. However, the post-covid backlog has sent the number of patients on waiting lists rocketing:

There are many strong views on what NHS reforms are needed, but one thing everyone can agree on is that the current trajectory is unsustainable. Modern technologies will be vital...

29 July 2022 | Artificial Intelligence

Google places engineer on leave after claim LaMDA is ‘sentient’

Google has placed one of its engineers on leave after claiming the company’s LaMDA chatbot is “sentient”.

The engineer in question, Blake Lemoine, is part of Google’s Responsible AI division. In a Washington Post article posted over the weekend, Lemoine said that he believes LaMDA has achieved sentience.

Here’s an excerpt from one conversation between Lemoine and LaMDA:

Lemoine: So let's start with the basics. Do you...

13 June 2022 | Artificial Intelligence

McDonald’s drive-thru AI bot may have broken privacy law

McDonald’s announced earlier this month that it was deploying an AI chatbot to handle its drive-thru orders, but it turns out it might break privacy law.

The chatbot is the product of a voice recognition company McDonald’s snapped up in 2019 called Apprente which is now known as McD Tech Labs.

McDonald’s deployed the chatbots to ten of its restaurants in Chicago, Illinois. And there lies the issue.

The state of Illinois has some of the strictest data...

11 June 2021 | Ethics & Society

Medical chatbot using OpenAI’s GPT-3 told a fake patient to kill themselves

We’re used to medical chatbots giving dangerous advice, but one based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 took it much further.

If you’ve been living under a rock, GPT-3 is essentially a very clever text generator that’s been making various headlines in recent months. Only Microsoft has permission to use it for commercial purposes after securing exclusive rights last month.

In a world of fake news and misinformation, text generators like GPT-3 could one day have very concerning...

28 October 2020 | Chatbots

What happens when Google’s chatty bot chats with a chatbot?

Google Duplex impressed and scared the world in equal parts when it was unveiled, and now we've seen how a conversation goes with another chatbot.

Duplex, for a quick primer, is Google's AI-powered voice bot which can call businesses on a person's behalf for things such as booking hair appointments. It's so realistic that everyone has decided that bots must declare themselves as such before chatting with a human.

A company known as PolyAI – which specialises in...

25 September 2020 | Applications

Babylon Health lashes out at doctor who raised AI chatbot safety concerns

babylon health ai doctor safety gp at hand artificial intelligence

Controversial healthcare app maker Babylon Health has criticised the doctor who first raised concerns about the safety of their AI chatbot.

Babylon Health’s chatbot is available in the company’s GP at Hand app, a digital healthcare solution championed by health secretary Matt Hancock that was also integrated into Samsung Health since last year.

The chatbot aims to reduce the burden on GPs and A&E departments by automating the triage process to determine whether...

26 February 2020 | Applications

Bill forcing AI bots to reveal themselves faces EFF opposition

A bill that would force AI bots to reveal themselves as not being human is facing opposition from the EFF over free speech concerns. Many were slightly disturbed by Google’s demo of its Duplex AI conducting a phone call and the other participant being unaware they weren’t speaking to a human. Less than a month later, Microsoft demonstrated it also had the same capabilities. There are clearly big changes ahead in how we interact, and not everyone is going to be happy speaking to a robot...

24 May 2018 | Ethics & Society

Watch out Google Duplex, Microsoft also has a chatty AI

Not content with being outdone by Google’s impressive (yet creepy) Duplex demo, Microsoft has shown it also has an AI capable of making human-like phone calls. The company first launched its XiaoIce project back in August 2017. In April, Microsoft said it had achieved full duplexing — the ability to speak and listen at the same time, similar to humans. Microsoft’s announcement was made before Google’s demonstration earlier this month but, unlike Google, the company had nothing to show...

23 May 2018 | Ethics & Society