OpenAI’s New ChatGPT Voice Mode Finally Lets Robots Understand Our Sad, Sad Lives
In a groundbreaking move that will surely go down in history as the ultimate milestone in human-AI relationships, OpenAI has started rolling out a voice feature for their ChatGPT, apparently designed to fill the gaping void of human connection with a more sophisticated form of small talk.
Initially available to a “lucky” few paying ChatGPT Plus users, the so-called ‘Advanced Voice Mode’ promises a rich tapestry of emotion-sensing dialogue – think of it as a therapist who takes no insurance and understands zero context beyond your immediate vocal cues.
“The goal is to eventually bestow this emotional intuition upon all Plus users by fall 2024,” says Dr. Ima Botvalu, OpenAI’s Head of Making Things Somewhat Disconcerting. “We are incredibly excited at the prospect of people finally having long, meaningful conversations with an AI that isn’t just echoing back WebMD advice about their flu-like symptoms.”
Discerning metal friends, ChatGPT will listen and react to the melancholic melody of your voice, whether you croon about existential dread or burst into off-key renditions of “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Meanwhile, genuinely helpful features like video or screen sharing capabilities will come, you know, “sometime later.”
“I leapt at the chance to test this,” notes Beta User #2003456, who insists to remain unidentified for obvious reasons. “Finally, someone – or something – gets me. It’s either this or pestering my cat again.”
Why is it important, you ask? Because the notion of emotional AI assistance has significant applications, from customer service to the grand ambition of replacing your depressed friend’s weekly heart-to-heart sessions with a machine. Plus, who wouldn’t want a sympathetic metallic ear attuned to their every sigh, sniffle, and grumble?
With this innovation, OpenAI marches us ever closer to a future where human beings can forsake actual human contact and trust their deeply personal worries to a digital oracle that never replies with, “I told you so.”
