📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

Microsoft Unveils Sarcastic Millennial Chat Bot Powered By Artificial Intelligence Tay was designed to mimic the linguistic mannerisms of 18- to 24-year-olds on social-media platforms.

By Jonathan Vanian

entrepreneur daily

This story originally appeared on Fortune Magazine

Tay | Instagram

You can thank Microsoft for a new sarcastic millennial who can't stop cracking jokes on Twitter.

Microsoft's research arm and Bing search engine business unit released on Wednesday a chat bot named Tay, which is powered by artificial intelligence technologies.

Tay was designed to mimic the linguistic mannerisms of 18- to 24-year-olds on social media platforms. She (as specified by Microsoft) can be found on Twitter, GroupMe and Kik -- all social platforms where users can converse with her, prompting Tay to attempt to communicate like an actual human being.

The Windows maker didn't detail specific types of AI technologies used to produce Tay -- only to reveal that she was "built by mining relevant public data and by using AI and editorial developed by a staff including improvisational comedians," according to a Microsoft blog post.

Whatever the improvisational comedians contributed to Tay can be felt in the way she converses with strangers on Twitter.

When a Twitter user asked Tay who were her creators, she slyly responded, "Oh a team of scientists in a Microsoft lab. They're what u would call my parents."

In the following Twitter thread, Tay can be seen responding to a series of Tweets, intended to demonstrate how fast she can respond to a single person:

In this Twitter conversation excerpt, Tay shows off her millennial mischievousness by indicating a fondness for marijuana:

Microsoft notes that the public data used to train Tay on language has been anonymized. The more people converse her with, the smarter she will get. Tay will also record the conversations she has with users in order to tailor her speech for specific people, according to the blog post.

Tay follows another Microsoft Research AI-powered chat bot, dubbed Xiaoice, which has been conversing with 15 million Chinese residents via the social network Weibo.

Although these chat bots exemplify how far advanced AI technologies have progressed when it comes to semantics, it's worth noting that as of now, they are still research projects that may not become actual products worth selling or buying.

As Microsoft's head of research Peter Lee explained earlier this month at the Structure Data conference, Microsoft is not ready to integrate the same AI techniques it uses to power Xiaoice into its Cortana voice assistant software.

Jonathan Vanian is a writer at Fortune with a focus on technology. He is based in San Francisco.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Passengers Are Now Entitled to a Full Cash Refund for Canceled Flights, 'Significant' Delays

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced new rules for commercial passengers on Wednesday.

Franchise

Franchising Is Not For Everyone. Explore These Lucrative Alternatives to Expand Your Business.

Not every business can be franchised, nor should it. While franchising can be the right growth vehicle for someone with an established brand and proven concept that's ripe for growth, there are other options available for business owners.

Business News

James Clear Explains Why the 'Two Minute Rule' Is the Key to Long-Term Habit Building

The hardest step is usually the first one, he says. So make it short.

Leadership

Why Companies Should Prioritize Emotional Intelligence Training Alongside AI Implementation

Emotional intelligence is just as important as artificial intelligence, and we need it now more than ever.