Film director Vikramaditya Motwane's latest Bollywood release 'CTRL' shows an emotionally disturbed person seeking an AI companion to help erase her history. Though the movie focuses on data and privacy, humans are social animals and need someone to hear them, guide them, or simply be there for them.
Reflecting on this sentiment, Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, recently said that his team is crafting AI companions that will see and remember everything we do. This will constitute an intimate AI-human relationship.
"I don't think of this as an application. I think of this as, fundamentally, a relationship. My team and I are in the business of engineering personalities. We're crafting a lasting, meaningful, trusted relationship, that is the new platform. As far as I see it, it's not just about voice and text or language, it's really going to be about vision," Suleyman said.
He noted that the companion can see everything you see in your browser or on your desktop in real time, understanding both the text and all of the images.
"It will be able to talk to you about it as fluently as I'm talking to you about it now. So trying to craft that into an application and business model too soon almost misses how fundamental it's going to be to have this ever-present, fully aware, perpetual memory companion that needs to be really aligned with your interests. It's going to be a highly intimate experience," Microsoft AI's CEO stated.
Here's Your AI Companion for Work
Many companies including Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google have announced AI assistants for the workplace.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled Windows' latest feature: Recall. This isn't just a keyword search; it's a semantic search, delving deep into your digital history to recreate moments from the past.
Windows PCs begin capturing screenshots of users' activities, feeding this data into a sophisticated AI model embedded directly within the devices. Through neural processing, every image and interaction will become searchable, even extending to photographs.
Understandably, there are some concerns, with Elon Musk, in a characteristic post, saying, "This is a Black Mirror episode. Definitely turning this 'feature' off."
Another interesting announcement is OpenAI's ChatGPT desktop app. It is powered by the latest GPT-4o model, which changed everything. This AI companion boasts real-time screen reading capabilities, positioning itself as the go-to colleague for assistance in times of need.
And now Aravind Srinivas, co-founder & CEO, Perplexity, shared on LinkedIn, "Perplexity is working with Zoom to enhance the Zoom AI companion, to answer all your questions while you're on your Zoom call. I have known CTO Xuedong Huang since his days at Microsoft and look forward to working with him and his team to bring the Perplexity experience to all Zoom users."
Huang highlighted the capabilities of AI Companion 2.0 and mentioned that this advanced AI doesn't just follow your workflow, it learns from it, picking up on your habits, predicting your needs, and even taking action for you.
"From tracking tasks to managing to-dos, it's always one step ahead, making sure your productivity never skips a beat within Zoom's ecosystem. It's like having an assistant that knows what you need before you do, keeping your workday running seamlessly," he said.
Earlier, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan had shared an innovative vision of an AI clone that can attend office meetings on your behalf. According to Yuan, leveraging AI's power in video conferencing can reduce the time spent in meetings.
"I can send a digital version of myself to join the meeting, freeing me up to hit the beach," Yuan shared with The Verge.
"There's no need for five or six Zoom calls a day when AI can take care of that for you," he added.
Zoom has already launched Zoom Workplace, an AI-powered collaboration platform designed to enhance teamwork and productivity. The platform offers 40 new features like updates to Zoom AI Companion for Zoom Phone, Team Chat, Events, Contact Center, and the Ask AI Companion feature.
AI Companion is a generative AI assistant seamlessly integrated across its platform. It boosts productivity, fosters better connections and collaboration among team members and helps users improve their skills.
What's Next?
Forget data privacy, experts believe that AI hasn't quite reached the point where it can serve as a true assistant.
But the landscape is shifting. We're moving from AI as professional helpers to AI as personal companions, and platforms like Chatgirl.ai and Replika are making waves. Then there's Baidu's Wantalk, which lets users chat with digital characters -- from pop idols to historical figures -- or even create a customised companion tailored to their interests, values, and identity.
But in the end, it's up to you - do you need a human or an AI companion?
