OpenAI’s GPT-4 Omni’s demo was so convincingly human that it could kick romantic companionship into overdrive whether people like it or not.
OpenAI unveiled GPT-4o on Monday, showcasing the real-time audio features that make it seem like Spike Jonze’s film Her is now becoming a reality. Just like in the movie, OpenAI gave ChatGPT a dynamic, friendly, and arguably flirty, voice that truly sounds just like a human. I’m going to make an early and somewhat obvious prediction: people are going to fall in love with GPT-4o, just like in the movie.
No, I don’t mean to fall in love like you might love Google Search. You love to use Google Search, but I think people are going to literally fall in love with GPT-4o or whatever it is they project onto the lifeless bot.
AI girlfriends are already proving to be a concerningly large use case for generative AI technology. When OpenAI released the GPT Store, AI girlfriends quickly flooded the zone. They offer companionship, without the real weight of a true human partner. Now that ChatGPT can supposedly talk in real-time with emotional intonations, I think OpenAI just blew the fucking lid off this thing, but maybe that was the point.
It shouldn’t be understated how impressive this technology is. OpenAI’s demos supposedly show that robots can now talk with humans in real-time, in a conversation that’s almost indistinguishable from a phone call with a real person. If the final release runs like Monday’s demo, OpenAI seems to have connected the dots for many people on how much AI will change our world.
The OpenAI staff noted how this technology was just like the movie Her. Sam Altman tweeted the word “her” right after the launch.
