Microsoft Unveils Sarcastic Millennial Chat Bot Powered By Artificial IntelligenceTay was designed to mimic the linguistic mannerisms of 18- to 24-year-olds on social-media platforms.

ByJonathan Vanian

This story originally appeared onFortune Magazine

Tay | Instagram

You can thank Microsoft for a new sarcastic millennial who can't stop cracking jokes on Twitter.

Microsoft's research arm and Bing search engine business unitreleasedon Wednesday a chat bot named Tay, which is powered by artificial intelligence technologies.

Tay was designed to mimic the linguistic mannerisms of 18- to 24-year-olds on social media platforms. She (as specified by Microsoft) can be found on Twitter, GroupMe and Kik -- all social platforms where users can converse with her, prompting Tay to attempt to communicate like an actual human being.

The Windows maker didn't detail specific types of AI technologies used to produce Tay -- only to reveal that she was "built by mining relevant public data and by using AI and editorial developed by a staff including improvisational comedians," according to a Microsoft blog post.

Whatever the improvisational comedians contributed to Tay can be felt in the way she converses with strangers on Twitter.

When a Twitter user asked Tay who were her creators, she slyly responded, "Oh a team of scientists in a Microsoft lab. They're what u would call my parents."

In the following Twitter thread, Tay can be seen responding to a series of Tweets, intended to demonstrate how fast she can respond to a single person:

TayTweets 1

In this Twitter conversation excerpt, Tay shows off her millennial mischievousness by indicating a fondness for marijuana:

Microsoft Tay 2

Microsoft notes that the public data used to train Tay on language has been anonymized. The more people converse her with, the smarter she will get. Tay will also record the conversations she has with users in order to tailor her speech for specific people, according to the blog post.

Tay follows another Microsoft Research AI-powered chat bot, dubbed Xiaoice, which has been conversing with 15 million Chinese residents via the social network Weibo.

Although these chat bots exemplify how far advanced AI technologies have progressed when it comes to semantics, it's worth noting that as of now, they are still research projects that may not become actual products worth selling or buying.

As Microsoft's head of research Peter Leeexplainedearlier this month at the Structure Data conference, Microsoft is not ready to integrate the same AI techniques it uses to power Xiaoice into its Cortana voice assistant software.

Jonathan Vanian is a writer atFortunewith a focus on technology. He is based in San Francisco.

Related Topics

Growing a Business

How Daymond John's Black Entrepreneurs Day Is Changing the Game

Empowering then next generation of business leaders through capital and mentorship

Franchise

This CEO Was Running 3 Yogurt Shops at 23, Then Purchased the Company at 27. Now He's Sharing His Secrets.

Discover how one young entrepreneur left the world of finance to revitalize a dessert franchise.

Business Plans

How to Pitch Your Business Plan in Just 10 Minutes

In the new book "Write Your Own Business Plan" business expert Eric Butow explains all of the points you need to hit in order to be both succinct and thorough during a pitch.

Starting a Business

How a Side Hustle Taking People on 'Urban Hikes' Became a Lucrative Business

Kansas City native Lisa Peña shows tourists and locals parts of the city they'd never see by car.

Thought Leaders

Why This One Leadership Trait is Crucial for Tough Decisions — and 3 Ways to Cultivate it

The benefits of empathy within your organization and business are immeasurable.