the first time I used SocialAI, I was sure the app was performance art. That was the only logical explanation why I would willingly sign up for AI bots named Blaze Fury and Trollington Nefarious to, well, troll me.
Even the app’s creator, Michael Sayman, admits that SocialAI’s premise can confuse people. Its announcement this week of the app sounded a bit like a generative AI joke: “A private social network where you receive millions of AI-generated comments offering feedback, advice and thoughts.”
But, no, SocialAI is real, if “real” applies to an online universe where every person you interact with is a bot.
There is only one real human in the SocialAI equation. That person is you. The new iOS app is designed to let you post text like you would on Twitter or Threads. An ellipsis appears almost as soon as you do, indicating that someone else is loading ammo, getting ready to fire. Then, instantly, multiple comments appear, cascading under your post, each and every one of them written by an AI character. In the new new version of the app, which just launched today, these AIs also talk to each other.
When you register for the first time, you are prompted to do so to choose These AI Character Archetypes: Want to hear from the fans? Trolls? Skeptics? Weird balls? Doomers? Visionaries? Nerds? Drama Queens? liberals? Conservatives? Welcome to SocialAI, where Trollita Kafka, Vera D. Nothing, Sunshine Sparkle, Progressive Parker, Derek Dissent, and Professor Debaterson are here to point you out or tell you why you’re wrong.
