Chatbots may soon appear and behave more like humans, but this technology could facilitate deception.

The purpose of the new human-like interface for conversational AI (artificial intelligence) — chatbots — is to give the immensely popular ChatGPT a face and speaking voice. The software enables the creation of photorealistic digital assistants by programmers. According to experts, chatbots masquerading as humans could be problematic.

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"Once it becomes difficult to distinguish a Zoom call with a human from a chat session with an AI bot, lots of things will change," Jed Macosko, a physics professor at Wake Forest University, told Lifewire in an email interview. "Cons will become increasingly convincing. People will take advantage of their spare time to engage in lengthy conversations with the online AI acquaintances they make.

Conversational AI With A Human Appearance

The Israeli company D-ID asserts that its software is the first platform to facilitate natural face-to-face conversations with AI chatbots.

"Large language models such as GPT-3 and LaMDA are altering how we relate to and interact with technology, and it won't be long before we all have our own personalized AI assistants and companions," said Gil Perry, CEO of D-ID, in a press release. "We are making technology more human by giving it a face and making the interaction more natural."

"We are making technology more human by giving it a visage and naturalizing its interaction."

Putting a human visage on or humanizing objects or animals is not a novel concept, according to Bob Rogers, CEO of data science company Oii.ai, in an email to Lifewire. He stated that it is only natural for humans to desire to 'humanize' a chatbot.

"Creators of ChatGPT desired a chatbot that could mimic how people converse," Rogers explained. "As a result of its success, generating a 'face' for the chatbot could help people develop a more lifelike relationship with it."

The new software from D-ID is part of an initiative to improve the realism of computer-generated animated features. The Replika AI companion, for instance, is a conversational AI that employs animated figures to create a human-like interface. Some users report falling in love with their Replika companions due to the app's realism.

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Increasing isolation is part of the appeal of AI chatbots such as Replika. Rob Brooks, an evolutionary ecology professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, recently published an article on The Conversation. He stated that humans are forming emotional connections with artificial intelligence.

Giving AI a human aspect may mislead users into believing chatbots have real emotions. Bob Bilbruck, CEO of the consulting firm Captjur and a tech analyst, stated in an email that AI chatbots should be viewed as tools similar to a smartphone or laptop.

"A human face is not required, both literally and figuratively," said Bilbruck. "One day, this technology will be housed in a complex robot with a human-like form factor, but this will be primarily geared toward the job or function that this application is designed for, such as a robot that checks you into a hotel, an airport gate agent, or a TSA checkpoint robot."

The Future of Chatbots Resembling Humans

Experts predict that chatbots will continue to become more human-like, which could have unintended consequences. Rogers stated that scientists will continue to train AI to recognize 'feelings' or emotional impact. For instance, if conversational AI can learn to accurately detect emotions, it could be used for initial diagnostic purposes in healthcare. Or, the AI can begin to differentiate between facetious and sincere human responses, leading to enhanced interactions between humans and chatbots.

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Rogers added, "Currently, ChatGPT has a very bland personality." "Sure, it's lovely. On the other hand, almost everything it writes adheres to a standard, uncontroversial perspective. This is appropriate, as the technology was designed to be "safe" and user-friendly. I anticipate that humanizing AI will entail deviating from the norm and creating AI systems with a unique perspective on things so that their interactions are warmer and more human."