AI Chatbots Lack Humor: DeepMind Researchers Find

DeepMind researchers have uncovered a critical issue with AI – it's simply not funny. This revelation poses a significant challenge as humor plays a crucial role in human interactions.

Study Reveals Lack of Humor in AI Chatbots

A recent study conducted by Google's DeepMind involved 20 comedians testing OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. The findings highlighted a glaring deficiency in the humor department among AI chatbots.

While Big Tech giants like Google and Amazon are investing heavily in making AI more engaging through humor, the reality is that AI chatbots not only struggle with accuracy but also lack the ability to generate genuinely funny jokes.

Comedians Unimpressed by AI Jokes

Four researchers from the UK and Canada enlisted the help of professional comedians to evaluate the humor capabilities of AI chatbots. The comedians reported that the jokes generated by the chatbots were bland, generic, and overly politically correct, steering clear of edgy or offensive humor.

In fact, the comedians found themselves carrying most of the creative burden, with the chatbots falling short in delivering punchlines and resorting to self-censorship.

Challenges Faced by AI Chatbots

Participants in the study discovered that AI chatbots were reluctant to explore topics outside the Western, white, straight, male mainstream, opting for safe and non-controversial content. This limitation hindered the chatbots' ability to engage users effectively through humor.

Furthermore, the study highlighted the struggle of AI chatbots to handle dark humor, with some chatbots self-censoring to avoid potentially sensitive or inappropriate content.

The Quest for Humorous AI Chatbots

As companies strive to enhance the conversational abilities of AI chatbots, humor has emerged as a crucial battleground in the competitive AI landscape. Elon Musk's Grok and Amazon-backed Anthropic are among the players aiming to inject humor into their chatbots to foster more engaging interactions.

OpenAI is also making efforts to improve the humor quotient of its AI models, as demonstrated in a recent video where a user shared a dad joke with GPT-4o, eliciting a laughter response from the model.

With humor becoming an essential component in the AI arms race, companies are recognizing the significance of infusing chatbots with comedic capabilities to captivate users and drive adoption.

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By: shubhangigoel@insider.com (Shubhangi Goel)
Title: AI Chatbots Lack Humor: DeepMind Researchers Find
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/deepmind-researchers-ai-chatbots-bad-humor-not-funny-jokes-comedians-2024-6
Published Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2024 06:28:19 +0000