AI is Magic
AI has been around a while. When I first heard the term (oh those 30+ years ago) it sounded like “smart software” to me. That’s what it always has been.
Software doing the right thing. Anticipating what the human wants, anticipating and suggesting the right path, the right content, the right User Experience.
Since then AI has grown to mean a “particular” kind of smart software, that being the kind of software you can just talk to — and it just “does it.”
Pure Magic.
An ecosystem is growing up around ChatBots. Facebook will show their “second gen” (Version 2.0) of the Facebook Messenger ChatBot platform at their upcoming f8 and they even released some V1.4 features — yesterday.
Line is making a big push into AI, WeChat is already getting negative feedback on heir own closed ecosystem “Instant Apps” and Alexa (Amazon) is flexing its muscles, building out it its OWN ecosystem - enjoying (for a moment) their true leadership in the field of voice activated AI systems.
When I look around the ChatBoT and AI ecosystem I see a whole lotta yabba dabba about enterprise, and health and huge promises that its just not clear can ever be delivered.
As an old veteran in this business I know that until the Version 3.0 is shipping, nothing else maters. Its about product and experience. Our industry is led by delivering great experiences to users (humans) and right now Alexa is doing that, and Siri isn’t.
For my own company — I see a little bit of what we’re doing in:
- OlaBot (personality tests)
- OctaneAI’s new “Convo” tool — interactive narratives as Facebook Page blog
- Mitsuku — There’s Ghost inside that Machine!
- and (it turns out) there are a couple of different Tamagotchi Bots out there (or coming soon)
All of these Bot products share a common element — they’re part of the First Gen of highly interactive, Messaging based experiences which define a new kind of ChatBot — one that’s more about the experience and expression — than buying shoes or booking a table or airplane flight.
Turns out — there’s even an Alexa version of OlaBot right now — so right on to Esther Crawford and Ethan Sutin.
I’m also in awe of what Matt Schlicht and Ben E. Parr shipped — yesterday — their OctaneAI Convo tool. Right on to the notion of using a Bot as a distribution mechanism for creative writing — even if this writing IS a support script of marketing message!
‘Cause you know marketing people are people — too.
To me — dear reader — this is all about Magic.
The (wo)man behind the curtain, the Ghost in the Machine, the Gepetto and Pinocchio combo. Isn’t that what we ALL want? A Bot that is US?
Our very own — Bot-a-licious, yummy, personable, fun to hang with, proxy, therapist, Bot to call our own?
That’s what I want.
