If an Instagram or WhatsApp user could ask an "assistant" a question at any time, they might ask it to suggest nearby restaurants, have it perform a web search to "settle a controversy between friends," or even ask it to create an image of an ocean liner equipped with sails to see what such a ship would look like. This was the vision presented by Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, September 27. The Meta founder announced the rollout of 28 conversational bots across the Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger platforms. One of the tools will serve as a generalist, while the rest will focus on specific themes like cooking, combat sports, fashion, and more. Each thematic tool will feature an avatar representing a personality, such as rapper Snoop Dogg or fashion influencer Paris Hilton."
Launched in beta version in the US, the conversational robots are set to undergo continued development following their initial roll-out on social media. In the coming months, Meta intends to enable developers, brands and influencers to create their own versions.
Zuckerberg's enthusiastic presentation was the latest in a series of announcements made over a few days by the tech giants in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Since the successful launch of the ChatGPT conversational robot in late 2022, its creator OpenAI, its partner Microsoft and their rivals Google, Meta and Amazon have entered an AI race that has resulted in a flurry of launches.
The virtual personal assistant idea is the common thread of the announcements. AI has revived the tech industry's old dream of a universal companion to help users in their daily lives, leisure and work. The concept recalls early voice assistants such as Apple's Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa, created in 2014 by Amazon with inspiration from the omniscient Star Trek computer. The new conversational assistants are "21st century Clippy" explained Mor Naaman, a Cornell Tech professor specializing in human-AI communication in a press release, in a reference to the paper clip with human features launched by Microsoft in its Office suite in 1996 that was deactivated in 2001 following a barrage of mockery.
On Tuesday, September 26, Microsoft launched another "everyday companion" in Windows 11, the latest version of its operating system. Available for the moment in North America, Asia and South America, the assistant, called Copilot, uses intelligence from Microsoft's partner OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. According to Microsoft, the assistant is accessible via special buttons or in a dialog box and can summarize a text, explain a subject, write a draft or create a video from vacation photos. Copilot will be extended to MS Office software (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) in November.
You have 50.29% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.