x.ai and A24 Films have combined forces to bring Ava, Ex Machina‘s AI, to life as an AI secretary-slash-personal assistant that schedules meetings. Ava can set up meetings between you and your friends or business contacts while you’re busy doing other things, saving you the tedious email ping-pong that comes with arranging a meeting.
Once signed up with x.ai you simply cc: amy@x.ai (or for a limited time ava@x.ai) and she’ll handle the job.
For example, a friend might email you asking to meet up. If you’re too busy to negotiate the day and time, you can copy Ava on the email. She will conduct a back-and-forth email conversation with your friend to find a time that fits with your schedule and then send the calendar invites to both parties.
Neither x.ai nor A24 have yet commented on whether this conversation can pass the Turing test.
Moviemakers A24 have latched onto this program as a way to promote Ex Machina. This is a natural match since the movie explores the ways computers reflect and are beginning to direct human interaction, much like Ava will when fully developed. This is on the heels of a Tinder profile they developed for Ava which would interact with users briefly asking questions like “What makes you human?” After a few exchanges, the Tinder profile would direct people to Ava’s Instagram page, which would reveal her identity and that the profile was a promotional spot for a movie.
x.ai has built and maintained AI-powered personal assistants since 2014. You can find out more about them, and the Ava project in progress, at their website.