SK Telecom’s “A.” (pronounced “A dot”) synthetic intelligence chatbot has a personality that speaks to individuals. The firm has built-in its numerous service from music streaming to e-commerce into A. and is planning to launch it absolutely in 2023.
BARCELONA, Spain — SK Telecom, considered one of South Korea’s greatest carriers, is planning to completely launch its personal synthetic intelligence chatbot, however is a really completely different product from ChatGPT, an govt engaged on the mission instructed CNBC.
The firm launched a beta model of “A.” — pronounced “A dot” — in South Korea in May final yr. It relies on generative AI, the know-how behind OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT.
Eric Davis, vp at SKT who’s main the work on A., stated that the corporate will launch a full model in South Korea this yr, including that this proposition may be very completely 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 stated that SKT has been engaged on A. for a yr 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 information to have the ability to chat in pure language. It is identical know-how because the one behind ChatGPT.
But Davis is eager to place A. as a really completely different product from ChatGPT. That’s as a result of SKT additionally owns numerous 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 stated.
A “super app” is an idea pioneered by Chinese know-how giants, reminiscent of 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 all the things from reserving holidays to funds.
Super apps are in style in China and in components of Asia, however have not taken off in Europe and within the U.S.
Davis, who beforehand labored on Apple’s voice assistant Siri, stated 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 stated. “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 the moment solely obtainable in Korean. Davis stated 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 stated.
SKT has regarded to diversify past its core telecommunications business. 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