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'SocialAI,' A Controversial Twitter-like App Filled With Solely Bots, Explained
Imagine: Twitter, but instead of chatting with your friends, you chat with robots.
Such is the conceit of SocialAI, a bizarre app that has perplexed many on social media.
What Is SocialAI?
SocialAI is an app created by Michael Sayman that looks practically identical to Twitter. The major difference is that whenever a user makes a post, they are not met with indifference or engagement from people, but rather instantaneous engagement from a theoretically infinite number of AI bots.
These bots can be tailored to the experience the user wants to have on the app, meaning a user can select from a range of personalities from "cheerleaders" to "trolls." These replies appear instantaneously and are transparently artificial. For example, an account named "Dylan Doubt" will always cast doubt on whatever a user posts.
What Has Been The Reaction To SocialAI?
On human-based social media platforms, the response to SocialAI has been largely one of mockery and disdain. As one user put it, Sayman has created a "social networking" platform without sociability or networking.
For many, SocialAI brought to mind the concept of the Dead Internet Theory, a concept that states most of the posts online are not made by humans but instead by artificial intelligence. Started in 2019, it was initially thought of as an urban legend, but SocialAI is basically "Dead Internet Theory" literalized.
That being said, those who have used the app actually seem to have positive impressions of SocialAI. Reviews in the app store have praised it not as a replacement social media app but for being more like an interactive diary. If a user posts an opinion or theory they're ruminating on, they are instantly met with a range of responses, though written by a computer, that can offer varying perspectives.
Positive reviews praise it as "therapeutic" for that reason. Negative reviews suggest the novelty wears off after a while.
In essence, you're definitely not going to go viral or get breaking news on SocialAI like you would on Twitter, but as a sounding board for thoughts, users say it has some utility for that purpose.
For the full history of SocialAI, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.