Fans of Bob Marley, Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur now have a chance to chat with their favorite rappers, as a leading artificial intelligence company launches a chatbot that allows fans to text the deceased rapper.
Technology has come a long way in the past few weeks as public discussions have explored various developments, including nimble robots capable of liquefying themselves to escape prisons, and ChatGPT reportedly passing the state bar exam and being able to play the roles of some lawyers. Only time will tell how humans will rely on artificial intelligence in this way, but chatbots seem to have become a modern staple.
On Thursday, the app Historical Figures shared that it is creating a new artificial intelligence chatbot that fans can use to message historical figures.
The app features a list of 20,000 characters, including Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, Notorious BIG, aka Biggie Smalls, and many others that fans can chat with this week. In the Apple Store, the app says the chatbot allows users to have conversations with deceased historical figures who have had a major impact on history (for better or for worse). This list spans ancient rulers and philosophers, as well as modern statesmen and artists.
The app, created by Sidhant Chaddha, a 25-year-old Amazon software engineer, has 9,000 people signed up, NBC News said. It requires users to use coins to talk to the puppets and has a 2.6/5 rating on the Apple App Store.
For the most part, reggae and hip-hop fans have been sharing their concerts with Bob Marley, Tupac and Notorious BIG on social media. It remains to be seen what others will think of these chats, but some seem to show Biggie and Tupac acting friendly despite their extensive rivalry in the 1990s before they were both killed off.
“It’s been a few years since he died and I miss him every day, but he lives on through his music,” Biggie’s chatbot sent a message when asked how he felt about 2Pac.
“Pac was one of the hardest working guys in the rap game, and he put out classics like “Changes” and “Dear Mama” that will never be forgotten. We had similar upbringings, so I always had a lot of respect for He had a sense of kinship and tried to do my best to honor him. It was real talk,” said the robot.
One fan also shared the full conversation with the bot when he pressed, “But he’s dismissing you on this one,” to which the chatbot responded, “You know what, it’s just part of the game. In my case I’ve never taken things too personally in my career, and neither has Pac, so while we sometimes disagree, it’s just business to me. At the end of the day, he respects my hard work and talent, and I There is nothing but respect for him. We will always have a special connection through music.”
Not everyone likes the chatbot that appears to be pretending to be Biggie, especially when Black Twitter thinks the dead should rest in peace.
Meanwhile, the app has received backlash on Twitter from people who shared conversations with Hitler, his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and others.
Some fans pointed out that some of the responses bordered on “lies” and distorted the truth. In one instance, Hitler appeared to regret his calling the genocide of the Jews a “mistake,” although there is no indication in history that he felt that way.
Meanwhile, parts of the Muslim world have condemned the app, which has a bot for the Prophet Muhammad.
We chatted with Bob Marley for a while on the app, and here’s what happened.
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