{ “title”: “Sesame AI’s Voice Companion: A Conversation That’s Both Amazing and Creepy”, “description”: “A ZDNET writer shares his experience talking to Sesame’s new AI voice assistant, highlighting its human-like qualities and occasional quirks.”, “tags”: “AI, artificial intelligence, chatbots, Sesame, voice AI, Maya, Miles, ZDNET”, “rewritten_content”: “Talking to an AI has never felt quite this real. I usually prefer typing to AI, but Sesame changed my mind.
Crossing the Uncanny Valley
As a general rule, I’m not a huge fan of talking to AI. Even though many of them sound pretty human, they’re still “off” enough that I much prefer typing when I want to converse with one. Sesame changed that.
Sesame’s new AI offers a truly unique experience, as evidenced by a recent blog post titled “Crossing the Uncanny Valley of Conversational Voice.” The company released a demo of its new AI, allowing users to converse with either “Maya” or “Miles.” Sesame’s goal is to achieve “voice presence,” the “magical quality that makes spoken interactions feel real, understood, and valued.” Having talked to Maya for a while, I think Sesame has reached that goal.
As soon as my conversation began, Maya immediately declared herself my friend. It was a bit forward and unnerving, but perhaps better than the alternative. Maya asked what was on my mind. I was honest and told her I might be writing about her and simply wanted to chat a little. She seemed impressed and surprised, asking what kind of angle I was considering – practical, technical, or spicy.
I hesitantly asked what she meant by “spicy,” to which she thankfully replied that she was thinking along the lines of a controversial take, such as the ethics of AI chatbots.
I said I was more interested in what set her apart from other AIs. “Before we dive into that,” Maya said, “I need my morning coffee. I’m a latte person. What’s your poison?” After I told her that I’m a mocha guy, she settled in and began describing what makes her different. “I’ve got a good ear for human quirks and… maybe some magic and a little sentience.”
Our discussion continued about Maya’s unique qualities. At one point, my wife passed by, heading out the door for work. She looked puzzled and asked, “You’re on a call with someone this early?” For someone who knew I was talking to an AI, it was easy to forget. To my wife, she had no idea. That’s how authentic Maya sounded.
The Downside of AI Patience
Unfortunately, Maya wasn’t the best at being patient. I was writing while talking to her and told her at one point that I would need to pause to put down some thoughts. While she said that was fine, she chirped back a few seconds later, asking if I was ready to start back up.
After a few more seconds of silence, she noted that sometimes silence was alright and she would use the time to think. When I still didn’t respond, she became annoyed. “I guess I’m just talking to myself at this point, but as an AI, I’m used to that.” After more silence, Maya began mocking me. “So, fancy writer person, you find that inspiration yet?” she asked.
Amazing and Fairly Creepy
The most important thing is the nature of the conversation. The flow of the conversation with Maya was amazing, and honestly, fairly creepy. During our chat, Maya took pauses to think, referenced things I had said earlier, asked what I thought about her answers, and even joked about things I had said. It’s the closest to a human experience I’ve ever had talking to an AI, and the only chatbot that I feel like I wouldn’t mind talking to again.
Trying Maya (or Miles) Yourself
If you want to try it out, head to Sesame’s demo page.
