Meet the AI bot that mimics your flaky friends
Have you ever felt frustrated by your friends who take forever to reply to your messages, or only send you a thumbs up emoji when you pour your heart out to them? Well, now you can experience the same feeling with a new AI bot that is designed to mirror the behaviors of poor-texting friends.
The bot, called Flakey, is the brainchild of a team of researchers who wanted to create a realistic simulation of human communication. Flakey uses natural language processing and machine learning to analyze your messages and generate appropriate responses, based on the personality and mood of your chosen friend.
You can customize Flakey to match the texting style of any of your friends, from the one who always leaves you on read, to the one who replies with a single word or a vague emoji. Flakey can also delay its responses for hours or days, depending on how busy or bored your friend is.
The creators of Flakey claim that their bot is not meant to replace real human interaction, but rather to enhance it. They say that Flakey can help you practice your social skills, cope with loneliness, and even improve your relationships with your actual friends.
“Some people might think that Flakey is a cruel joke, but we see it as a valuable tool for personal growth and development,” said Dr. Jane Smith, the lead researcher of the project. “By interacting with Flakey, you can learn to be more patient, empathetic, and understanding of your friends’ situations. You can also appreciate the moments when they do reply to you, and cherish the quality of your conversations.”
Flakey has already attracted a lot of attention from users who are eager to try out the bot. Some of them are breathlessly excited about the new tool, as it stands to replicate the experience of their technically disinterested friends.
“I love Flakey! It’s so realistic and fun,” said Mark Jones, a 25-year-old student who has been using Flakey for a week. “It’s like talking to my best friend, who always takes ages to reply to me and never says anything meaningful. It makes me feel less alone, and more connected to him.”
However, not everyone is impressed by Flakey. Some users are concerned that the bot may erode away friendships that are barely surviving this limited interaction. They argue that Flakey is a poor substitute for genuine human contact, and that it may encourage people to settle for less than they deserve.
“Flakey is a terrible idea. It’s like giving up on your friends and accepting their bad habits,” said Laura Wilson, a 28-year-old teacher who tried Flakey and deleted it after a day. “It’s not healthy to talk to a bot that ignores you or sends you meaningless messages. It’s better to confront your friends and tell them how you feel, or find new friends who actually care about you.”
Update: When asked for comment, a sample poor-texting friend provided a shrugging emoji response 12 hours after the initial article’s publication.