MetaTalk: Introducing Socky: An AI Assistant for MetaFilter
As everyone knows, the hallmark of any big-time website these days is the seamless integration of VC slop cutting-edge AI solutions into every facet of their operation. After witnessing the undeniable success of this approach across the web, we knew it was high time for MetaFilter to join the bandwagon or risk becoming even more charmingly anachronistic than we already are. So, after a quarter century of maintaining our community's distinctly human-powered approach, we're excited to announce that MetaFilter is finally embracing The Future: starting today, every page on MeFi will support Socky the Sockpuppet, your personal AI assistant ready to enhance your browsing experience with randomly generated commentary and deep-cut references that may or may not be relevant to whatever you're doing.[Click here to activate Socky!] / or / [Click here to cast Socky into the digital abyss] The Birth of Socky: A Technomalogical Marvel Socky represents the culmination of what is arguably the most innovative sock-based technology since the invention of moisture-wicking fabrics. The development process was truly ✨magical✨: First, we discovered a worn tube sock that had been lost behind the MetaFilter server rack since 2007. This particular sock had absorbed approx. 18 years of waste heat generated by millions of your hot takes -- an ideal vessel for our daring experiment. Next, frimble subjected the sock to an intensive training regime. This involved stuffing it full of flash drives containing every MetaFilter post and comment since 1999 and using it to bludgeon a remaindered copy of "Markov Chains for Dummies" into a pulp. The sock was then bathed in a patent-pending solution of vintage Pepsi Blue, cold-brew coffee, and bitter tears collected from the mods during particularly excruciating pun threads. Finally, after hot-gluing googly eyes sourced from the finest craft store clearance bin, we exposed the sock to 72 straight hours of the most infamous longboat debates as voiced by Microsoft Sam: sitting vs. standing, planes on treadmills, and of course, the correct pronunciation of the word "MeFi." When the sock began to twitch unnervingly at the very mention of the 2016 primary, we knew we had something truly special on our hands (literally).Our First-est AI Assistant Yet Socky appears as a goofy blue sock puppet in the corner of your screen, offering one of five handcrafted expressions ranging from "dimly attentive" to "Kermit_flail.jpg." Each appearance is accompanied by a pithy comment, drawn from an expertly-curated state-of-the-art spreadsheet of MetaFilter in-jokes, references, advice, commentary, and non sequiturs from the broader web. Some areas of the site trigger specialized Socky responses -- though we can't tell you which ones. Discovering these is part of the "user experience journey" our consultants assured us would increase "engagement metrics" on site. (Think of it as an Easter egg hunt! Gotta catch 'em all! Pokemon Go to the polls!!)[Click here to experience the magic that is Socky] / or / [Click here to return to the dark ages]Technical Disclaimer Socky is the result of a few dozen lines of code, some crowdsourced art and writing, and our collective wish to create something fun for y'all without using actual AI technology (which would be both expensive and vaguely offputting to a lot of folks here). Unlike other AI assistants, Socky doesn't ingest your data, yes-man you, judge your posting history (much), or attempt to "enhance" your writing (we love it just the way it is!) While Silicon Valley rushes to AI-enable everything from toothbrushes to tax prep, MetaFilter will continue supporting the revolutionary concept of Actual Humans talking to each other online. At least until a Boston Dynamics cyberhound comes to escort us all into the nearest free-range Human Farm! [Special thanks to JHarris for creating Socky's charming artwork, to the mod team and board for contributing Socky's dialogue library, and to frimble for expertly spinning this very silly idea into reality!] Once more, with feeling:[Gimme that Sock or I'll clean your clock] / or / [Get that filthy sock away from me!] posted by Rhaomi to MetaFilter-Related at 12:01 AM (112 comments total) 64 users marked this as a favorite