| The last time I spoke with an artificial intelligence program, I kept asking her about herself and she turned out to be dull. So it seems that these programs have a ways to go. However, I started to wonder just what some of the applications could be for having various artificial intelligence personalities, once the technology improves substantially. One possibility is that they might work with us as kind of creative researchers, teachers of a sort, or even friends. I can imagine that a local AI unit might post on forums like Barbelith, and be a good contributer. But that idea got me thinking. Those functions are all well and good, but they don’t make a lot of money. A more profitable use would be in advertising. Once AI advances a little, it doesn’t seem to me like it would be too difficult to build a program that would enter online communities, become well respected, and then start advertising products. If someone like Grant started a thread in the Conversation about how much he loved McDonald’s Bacon Cheeseburgers, I’d be a lot more tempted to actually try a McDonald’s Bacon Cheeseburger than I am when I see an add for it on TV. But if this advertising technique proved effective, competitors would probably have two AI units sending conflicting messages from time to time and we might see fights erupt over who sells the best bacon cheeseburger. But after a while, we’d surely catch on that advertisements could be programmed into people we actually considered online friends, and I suspect that most people wouldn’t think of them any less as friends than they do now. Instead, we’d just decide that we could no longer trust friendly recommendations to be honest recommendations. What would be the effect on the way people interact with each other, once it becomes apparent that some people are designed to be commercials? |
) it is quite along the same thread as product placement in movies, etc. anything that gives a brand recognition and status at once has to be good... getting the edge, any way to find it.