4 ms·

The Rise of the Social Media Fembot

80 points by IntronExon 9y ago

firasd 9y ago
A couple days ago I installed a chat app called 'Replika' after also seeing it described here: https://www.wired.com/story/replika-open-source/ https://www.wired.com/story/replika-open-source/ I'm kinda over it now (I don't see any value in building up rapport with it if there's nowhere for the relationship to 'go' since, despite being a good simulation of conversation, it doesn't really understand what I'm saying) but it definitely makes me think that interactions like in the movie 'Her' are not too far-fetched.
- snerbles 9y ago
  As noted in the Wired article, Replika released their emotional dialog system at https://github.com/lukalabs/cakechat https://github.com/lukalabs/cakechat
stochastic_monk 9y ago
I do like that they’re bringing up Her (2013). I felt like no one noticed that it took the principle ideas from Blade Runner regarding consciousness and humanity and extrapolated them so much further. Most people seemed to only notice the relationship. For example, this was made clear for me during OS setup. “Describe your relationship with your mother.” This immediately recalls an early moment from Blade Runner: “Describe in single words only the good things that come to your mind about your mother.” ‘I'll tell you about my mother.’
- gumby 9y ago
  If you're interested in this topic you might prefer the novel the film was made from, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" The film mainly used the topic as a backdrop for an action-adventure film, while the book really gets to the heart of the question.
  - pmlnr 9y ago
    The film addresses a lot of the questions, but you need to see it many times, as most of them are not spoken out loudly.
    - stochastic_monk 9y ago
      I think this is an important point. Also, there are a number of additional elements that make the film exceptional that the book lacks. My favorite example of this is the deliberate misquotation from America, A Prophecy: “Fiery the angels fell; deep thunder roll’d round their shores, burning with the fires of Orc.” Fell replaces “rose”, signifying that these off-world replicants are angels falling to earth. Truly more human than human. Additionally, for an example of extrapolation, Blade Runner does not explore the consequences of exponentially increasing reasoning/abstraction that an artificial intelligence could theoretically achieve which human intellect could not understand.
nimbius 9y ago
Its hard to see the purpose of this...is it art-pop? live art? as if the "am i OK?" video isnt bone-chillingly Orwellian enough, theres a mind boggling 34 second video from "Poppy" on how to properly load a handgun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-B7KRjByzI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-B7KRjByzI im sure David Lynch is kicking himself for not thinking of this idea first.
- pluma 9y ago
  I'm not sure whether it's a language/culture thing but Poppy's voice seems really unpleasant to me. It reminds me of Japanese anime characters, more age-play than feminine. The jarringly meditative background music aside, her videos also seem reminiscent of the naive child-like alien/clone/orphan trope often found in anime. It seems like she's more of a Western adaption of the Japanese idol/vocaloid trends than a genuinely novel phenomenon.
  - acobster 9y ago
    Clearly there are elements that we're lifted from anime tropes, including the age-play suggestive voice and costume, but I think what's novel about this is the format of the presentation. Poppy's not just a character that exists in a fictional setting, she's more of a persona, interacting with the real world and gaining real followers. She's using her platform - not just social media but the platform of fame itself - to make her statement. I'm not entirely clear on what that statement is, but that's kind of what I love about it.
    - pmlnr 9y ago
      > I'm not entirely clear on what that statement is, but that's kind of what I love about it. That summarises the current state of social media way too well. I miss meaningful manifestos, people actually standing up for a belief, instead of candy coloured mist of vague promises that can be retrofitted when needed.
      - narrator 9y ago
JoeDaDude 9y ago
The Japanese, being true to their media, have a small bevy of animated youtube stars [1], many imitating the success of the first such character, Kizuna AI [2]. These use real time animation, where the motions of an actress are imposed on an animated character. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoOeldwe_rg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoOeldwe_rg [2] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4YaOt1yT-ZeyB0OmxHgolA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4YaOt1yT-ZeyB0OmxHgolA

80 points by IntronExon 9y ago

A couple days ago I installed a chat app called 'Replika' after also seeing it described here: https://www.wired.com/story/replika-open-source/ https://www.wired.com/story/replika-open-source/ I'm kinda over it now (I don't see any value in building up rapport with it if there's nowhere for the relationship to 'go' since, despite being a good simulation of conversation, it doesn't really understand what I'm saying) but it definitely makes me think that interactions like in the movie 'Her' are not too far-fetched.

snerbles 9y ago
As noted in the Wired article, Replika released their emotional dialog system at https://github.com/lukalabs/cakechat https://github.com/lukalabs/cakechat

stochastic_monk 9y ago

I do like that they’re bringing up Her (2013). I felt like no one noticed that it took the principle ideas from Blade Runner regarding consciousness and humanity and extrapolated them so much further. Most people seemed to only notice the relationship. For example, this was made clear for me during OS setup. “Describe your relationship with your mother.” This immediately recalls an early moment from Blade Runner: “Describe in single words only the good things that come to your mind about your mother.” ‘I'll tell you about my mother.’

gumby 9y ago
If you're interested in this topic you might prefer the novel the film was made from, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" The film mainly used the topic as a backdrop for an action-adventure film, while the book really gets to the heart of the question.
- pmlnr 9y ago
  The film addresses a lot of the questions, but you need to see it many times, as most of them are not spoken out loudly.
  - stochastic_monk 9y ago
    I think this is an important point. Also, there are a number of additional elements that make the film exceptional that the book lacks. My favorite example of this is the deliberate misquotation from America, A Prophecy: “Fiery the angels fell; deep thunder roll’d round their shores, burning with the fires of Orc.” Fell replaces “rose”, signifying that these off-world replicants are angels falling to earth. Truly more human than human. Additionally, for an example of extrapolation, Blade Runner does not explore the consequences of exponentially increasing reasoning/abstraction that an artificial intelligence could theoretically achieve which human intellect could not understand.

nimbius 9y ago

Its hard to see the purpose of this...is it art-pop? live art? as if the "am i OK?" video isnt bone-chillingly Orwellian enough, theres a mind boggling 34 second video from "Poppy" on how to properly load a handgun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-B7KRjByzI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-B7KRjByzI im sure David Lynch is kicking himself for not thinking of this idea first.

pluma 9y ago
I'm not sure whether it's a language/culture thing but Poppy's voice seems really unpleasant to me. It reminds me of Japanese anime characters, more age-play than feminine. The jarringly meditative background music aside, her videos also seem reminiscent of the naive child-like alien/clone/orphan trope often found in anime. It seems like she's more of a Western adaption of the Japanese idol/vocaloid trends than a genuinely novel phenomenon.
- acobster 9y ago
  Clearly there are elements that we're lifted from anime tropes, including the age-play suggestive voice and costume, but I think what's novel about this is the format of the presentation. Poppy's not just a character that exists in a fictional setting, she's more of a persona, interacting with the real world and gaining real followers. She's using her platform - not just social media but the platform of fame itself - to make her statement. I'm not entirely clear on what that statement is, but that's kind of what I love about it.
  - pmlnr 9y ago
    > I'm not entirely clear on what that statement is, but that's kind of what I love about it. That summarises the current state of social media way too well. I miss meaningful manifestos, people actually standing up for a belief, instead of candy coloured mist of vague promises that can be retrofitted when needed.
    - narrator 9y ago

JoeDaDude 9y ago

The Japanese, being true to their media, have a small bevy of animated youtube stars [1], many imitating the success of the first such character, Kizuna AI [2]. These use real time animation, where the motions of an actress are imposed on an animated character. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoOeldwe_rg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoOeldwe_rg [2] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4YaOt1yT-ZeyB0OmxHgolA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4YaOt1yT-ZeyB0OmxHgolA