Microsoft is releasing another experimental chatbot into the wild, this time on the Kik messaging app.
Zo Chatboot
The high-tech company has launched for testing purposes a new chatbot named Zo. According to a report by technology website MSPoweruser, Zo will be tested on the social instant messaging app Kik.
According to Fortune, a chatbot application is a type of software program that can interact and communicate with users via speaking or writing. Chatbots have been already around for years, being used by some companies as help-desk assistants on their websites.
Lately, the chatbots have become more powerful due to the rise of artificial intelligence technologies. AI techniques such as natural language processing or deep learning can help researchers train their chatbots on written conversations. With the advances in the AI field, chatbots become more capable of understanding human language.
Microsoft sees a big future for chatbots, same as other big tech companies, including Facebook and Google. In March, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explained that chatbots aim to make it easier for users to perform tasks through simply talking to the program.
In order to advance the technology for these types of complex interactions, Microsoft needs to test its bots on various communication and social media services. This way, the company can improve its bots before incorporating them into any actual products.
Previous Microsoft Bots
At the moment, it is still unclear why Microsoft chose to release its new chatbot Zo on only one messaging app so far or what the company hopes to learn from this experiment. Microsoft tested in March another chatbot called Tay on Twitter. However, the software program made some very controversial and offensive comments.
Tay absorbed various racist conversations on Twitter and began to speak to others in a similar offensive manner. Microsoft was forced to apologize and terminate the experiment.
In order to ensure Zo doesn't go on the same path like its cousin Tay, it seems that currently Microsoft it's taking some precautionary measures. According to CNET, Kik users who've downloaded the Zo preview could notice that the latest chatbot is tightly locked down. For instance, Zo isn't allowed to discuss politics.
