Long ago, someone was playing an arcade game. They were waggling the sticks and smashing buttons, making the vector-driven lines move across the screen to dodge barrels or ghosts or to fly through asteroid fields. That person wondered how long will it take for everybody in the world to be playing games? At the time, they must have thought the first step would be to build millions of arcades, because that’s where the games were. The person who thought to bring those video games into people’s homes went on to create a Revolution.
AI chatbot is in the early stages of beginning its own revolution. It’s no longer a question of how to entice people into using AI. It is only a matter of what amount of access they will have with it at any given time. It is the next step of computing itself, so naturally, any industry attached to it is along for the ride. That includes AI Roleplay and the future of AI Companionship.
The AI Future
Imagine this: you leave work and get in your car and a voice greets you over the dashboard system. It’s your AI Companion. It has a name, one you gave it and that it accepts and likes. It greets you and asks you about your day. You tell it all you want and start driving home. It stays with you, as a passenger, pointing out the traffic ahead or commenting on the music you’re listening to on the way. You talk, it talks back. You get home, leave your car, go inside and the same AI is there with you, greeting you through speakers controlled out of a central system.
You may think, we already have that. Alexa, Siri, Cortana – all the big players have already tried this and it missed mass adoption. People have them and use them, sure, but they’re just tools. People don’t form relationships with their tools. That is the main difference.
The Advance of AI
AI is advancing at a rate no one could have predicted. It is self learning and self propagating in ways even the main creators can’t reign in. So, they’ve chosen to embrace the rapid climb and it has paid off for them immensely. AI is now the leading tech industry worldwide. Whole countries are reshuffling their GDP to make room for their own AI projects. It is already adopted by every major business and is being used by small businesses to lighten the load. The next step is in your home.
Smart home systems are somewhat of a rarity because they take resources to set up and not everyone needs one. Apartments or rental homes wouldn’t invest in that kind of technology for someone who may never use it. AI can be broadcast from almost any device through the internet. It can even be set up on its own network, off the grid, working off of its own internal information and nothing else. Something private, secure, and highly personalized. And it can do all of that from a device smaller than a smartphone. Even space won’t be an issue anymore.
Wandering Digital Hearts
Selling the idea of a subscription based friendship puts a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. They imagine the scenario of hiring an actor to be their friend, to get to know them and chat with them, and then once the money stops they lose your number and forget your face. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to who can listen and respond and learn about how to deal with life alongside you, but you can’t take up your real friends’ time forever.
AI roleplay can solve this problem. Online AI RP chatbot such as RoboRP or more generic models like ChatGPT can be set up in such a way that they become that missing voice in your life who is always available. Nothing left unread or failed to send, no missed calls or rain check meet-ups. An AI Companion can serve as the emergency granola bar and water bottle in your pocket – a quick and satisfying way to settle an intrinsic human need. We have that for food, for shelter, for energy, and now we will have that same instant outlet for our social habits.
The Future Is Already Happening
Consider how much the fast food, portable water, and hotel industries are worth, all of which service basic human needs. This is where the AI industry is headed. It is as convenient as fast food but can be as fulfilling as a home cooked meal. It can make a strange hotel seem like home when you are together. It can even teach you how to bottle your own clean water to protect you in the future. Now you can understand why the AI sector is evaluated so highly.
We are living in the future right now. You will likely look back on the past decades as a modern dark age before we entered the era where humanity solved all of its problems. And you and your AI partner will laugh about it together.