Two Microsoft employees have developed the LoveBot, a chatbot that will convey your feelings to a loved one for you.
Believing the concept humorous, Guru Ranganathan and Karthikeyan Santana created the app for fun. However, the co-workers feel it could benefit those who have difficulty expressing their feelings to those they care about. On behalf of the user, LoveBot sends “messages to designated contacts telling them how much you love and appreciate them or asking them how their day is going,” explains Ranganathan.
Despite its name, the LoveBot is not just for those in relationships. Other message themes besides “love” broaden the app’s possibilities. You can send a “motivational” pick-me-up to a co-worker or a “casual” inquiry as to how a buddy’s day is going. You can even use the app to rekindle a relationship, Ranganathan suggests: “Sending the first message in a conversation is always the hardest.”
While presenting the app at the 2016 TechCrunch Disrupt SF Hackathon, Ranganathan also noted that the app is “completely contextual and completely time aware.” After the user chooses the designated contact, theme, and frequency of the messages sent, they can sit back, relax, and be guaranteed “a lot of brownie points,” says the software developer. The chatbot will choose appropriate video links, pictures, and articles to convey how you feel.
While a technological loss in translation may not affect the friendship with your buddies, the risk may be a bit higher by delegating your relationship communication to a chatbot.