The world of virtual assistants has come a long way since the days of Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. However, these popular voice assistants are starting to pale in comparison to the latest AI-powered chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard. The recent boom in generative AI technology holds immense potential for the future of virtual assistants, promising a whole new level of sophistication and capability. To catch a glimpse of what lies ahead, I decided to test an experimental AI voice helper called vimGPT. The results were eye-opening and demonstrated the exciting possibilities that lie ahead for virtual assistants.
When I instructed vimGPT to “subscribe to WIRED,” it showcased impressive skills by swiftly finding the correct web page and accessing the online form. Although this may seem like a simple task to a human, the ability to navigate the complexities of buying something online on the open web represents a significant advancement beyond the capabilities of Siri, Alexa, or the Google Assistant. It requires not only understanding the request but also accessing the internet to locate the appropriate website and interacting with relevant pages and forms. While vimGPT fell short due to a lack of credit card information, its performance highlighted the potential of incorporating generative AI into virtual assistants.
vimGPT, an experimental open-source program developed by Ishan Shah, utilizes Google’s open-source browser Chromium, ensuring user information is not stored. Further experimentation revealed that vimGPT excels at tasks such as searching for entertaining cat videos or finding affordable flights. Built on the multimodal version of OpenAI’s renowned language model, GPT-4V, vimGPT exhibits superior capabilities in understanding requests and interacting with the web compared to traditional text-only software. By reducing the reliance on cumbersome HTML interpretation, vimGPT streamlines the browsing experience and enables more efficient interactions.
With the rapid progress in AI technology, Shah believes the way we use computers will undergo a transformation in the coming years. According to him, “Most apps will require less clicking and more chatting, with agents becoming an integral part of browsing the web.” While vimGPT is solely an experimental project created in a matter of days, major players like Apple and Google are undoubtedly conducting similar experiments and exploring the potential of incorporating AI advancements into their virtual assistants. The integration of AI models like ChatGPT into Siri and other popular assistants holds the promise of a revolutionary upgrade to their abilities.
Ruslan Salakhutdinov, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and former director of AI research at Apple, envisions the next evolution of virtual assistants: agents capable of performing useful tasks. Salakhutdinov believes that connecting Siri to AI models like ChatGPT would be a step in the right direction but emphasizes the transformative impact of assistants that can proactively solve problems. Salakhutdinov and his team have developed simulated environments such as a dummy e-commerce website, a Reddit-like message board, and a classified ad website to test and refine AI helpers’ capabilities. This testing ground, known as VisualWebArena, allows agents to demonstrate their ability to navigate and accomplish tasks in various scenarios, paving the way for future advancements.
The future of virtual assistants holds extraordinary promise. The limitations of traditional voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are gradually being surpassed by the power of generative AI chatbots and experimental projects like vimGPT. As the integration of AI technologies into virtual assistants becomes more advanced, we can expect a transformative shift in the way we interact with computers and the internet. While the potential of AI-assisted browsing and problem-solving is vast, only time will reveal the true extent of its impact. Nonetheless, one thing is certain: virtual assistants are poised for a remarkable evolution that will revolutionize our online experience.
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