SK Telecom’s “A.” (pronounced “A dot”) synthetic intelligence chatbot has a personality that speaks to individuals. The firm has built-in its varied service from music streaming to e-commerce into A. and is planning to launch it totally in 2023.
BARCELONA, Spain — SK Telecom, one in all South Korea’s largest carriers, is planning to completely launch its personal synthetic intelligence chatbot, however is a really totally different product from ChatGPT, an govt engaged on the challenge instructed CNBC.
The firm launched a beta model of “A.” — pronounced “A dot” — in South Korea in May final 12 months. It relies on generative AI, the expertise behind OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT.
Eric Davis, vp at SKT who’s main the work on A., mentioned that the corporate will launch a full model in South Korea this 12 months, including that this proposition may be very totally different from ChatGPT.
“It’s like you’re chatting with a friend, where you’re solving issues that you encounter in your daily life,” Davis instructed CNBC on Wednesday on the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Davis mentioned that SKT has been engaged on A. for a 12 months and a half. It is is constructed in-house on the telecoms agency on so-called massive language fashions — AI skilled on large quantities of knowledge to have the ability to chat in pure language. It is identical expertise because the one behind ChatGPT.
But Davis is eager to place A. as a really totally different product from ChatGPT. That’s as a result of SKT additionally owns varied companies, starting from music streaming to e-commerce and fee apps, which it’s integrating into its chatbot.
“So, largely, the super app is the end picture there. Download our app, and we’ll do basically everything you want us to do and more,” Davis mentioned.
A “super app” is an idea pioneered by Chinese expertise giants, similar to Tencent with its WeChat messaging service. The thought is that an individual solely wants one app, and that a number of third-party companies are accessible through that app. In China, WeChat can be utilized for the whole lot from reserving holidays to funds.
Super apps are in style in China and in elements of Asia, however have not taken off in Europe and within the U.S.
Davis, who beforehand labored on Apple’s voice assistant Siri, mentioned that the plan is to combine “a lot more third party services” into the A. chatbot.
“ChatGPT is great. You know, it answers your questions, or it provides a summary. But it doesn’t do any things we did in A., “Davis mentioned. “It doesn’t connect you with services or out, it doesn’t have any personalization, we make a conscious effort to learn about our users.”
A. is at present solely out there in Korean. Davis mentioned that SKT is within the early levels of exploring a world launch for the service.
“We’ve been talking to people in Europe, of course in Southeast Asia, local people that know the markets and know sort of what’s going to sell. So we’ve been having talks, but again, nothing’s really finalized,” Davis mentioned.
SKT has appeared to diversify past its core telecommunications enterprise. It plans to launch a flying taxi service in 2025, and CNBC reported this week that the corporate’s AI chip spin-off Sapeon seeks a $400 million valuation.
Source: www.cnbc.com”