How Replika built a chatbot worth talking about ??

Have you seen the new about the Replika chatbot removing erotic roleplay?

This app has faced controversy ever since it launched as a way to?stay connected with a recently deceased friend.

Over the years, the team evolved away from that model & tried many different approaches – finally pivoting into a popular (& controversial) niche & mental model: "the AI companion who cares."

How did Replika come to dominate this niche in a frothy, uncertain market?

Here's the story of how Eugenia built?a chatbot worth talking about.

When you build emotionally compelling experiences on LLMs (large language models) - controversy is inevitable ??

Smart chatbots like Replika & ChatGPT are evolving rapidly – often in unexpected ways. And their sophistication can trick us into projecting human qualities onto their actions that simply... aren't there.

Whether it's games, chatbots or tamagotchi, emotionally engaging technology is here to stay. And to navigate these choppy waters, you need rapid iteration skills - like the ones Eugenia's team developed in our?Game Thinking Masterclass,

Interested? Applications are open thru March 10 for our Spring '23 cohort – CLICK HERE to learn more & apply

Have you played around with Replika? Are you incensed? Indifferent? Amused?

I'd love to know - leave a comment & tell us what you think ????