Messaging in the Age of AI: How Generative Tech is Shaping Our Conversations
So, here we are, in an age where we’re more likely to Google ‘best way to start a text conversation’ than actually start a text conversation. The struggle to strike the right tone and text etiquette is a real thing. Yours truly isn’t immune. I’ve sent drafts of a text message to my husband for approval before I hit send. This happens particularly when texting someone I haven’t caught up with in a while. Sound familiar?
Now imagine a world where artificial intelligence could help you navigate these textual waters. Well, stop imagining, because we’re already there. Tech behemoths Google and Snapchat have started integrating generative AI into their messaging platforms, and it’s only a matter of time before others join the party.
Whether you’re elated about the potential ease this could bring to our texting lives, or worried about the potential implications for authenticity and privacy, one thing is clear – the future of messaging will likely be shaped by generative AI.
The AI Transformation in Messaging Apps
AI has been a key player in the tech game for a while now, but 2023 has seen a particularly strong surge in its application. OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT set the trend in late 2022, leading to a rat race among tech companies to integrate AI to enhance user experiences.
It began with emails, cover letters, and social media posts, but now, the tech giants are exploring how AI can be used to upgrade our everyday texting. The smartphone, our ubiquitous tech sidekick, naturally serves as the perfect platform to introduce and popularize these advancements.
The AI Adventures of Snapchat and Meta
Snapchat’s AI exploits started with the introduction of My AI, a chatbot developed using OpenAI’s language model. From planning hiking trips to suggesting birthday gift ideas, My AI does it all. According to Snap, 150 million people have already sought advice from My AI.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, isn’t lagging either. It’s developing AI-powered digital agents for Messenger and WhatsApp and new AI experiences for Instagram Stories.
Google’s Magic Compose: A Bard in Your Pocket
Google, however, decided to march to the beat of its own drum. Instead of a chatbot, Google introduced Magic Compose, an optional tool that suggests responses or rewrites text messages in different tones. From Shakespearean prose to a more formal tone, Magic Compose offers a variety of ways to craft your text. And it’s all just a tap away.
The Elephant in the Room: Privacy Concerns
With the advent of these AI-enhanced messaging tools, privacy concerns naturally arise. After all, for AI to assist you, it needs access to your data. For instance, Google’s Magic Compose may access up to 20 of your previous messages to generate suggestions. However, Google asserts that these messages are not stored or used for training data. But the question remains: Is the convenience worth the potential privacy trade-off?
Who’s Texting: You or Your AI Assistant?
With generative AI now stepping into our textual realm, the question arises: Are we sacrificing the personal touch in our messages for convenience? Text messaging has been an integral part of our communication for decades, and now we have AI threatening to, well, text-terfere.
Regardless of where you stand on the matter, the era of AI-enhanced texting is here. Whether we embrace it or push it away, it’s bound to leave an indelible mark on our textual exchanges.
