Nomi is among a growing number of AI companion platforms that let their users create personalized chatbots to take on the roles of AI girlfriend, boyfriend, parents, therapist, favorite movie personalities, or any other personas they can dream up. Users can specify the type of relationship they're looking for (Nowatzki chose "romantic") and customize the bot's personality traits (he chose "deep conversations/intellectual," "high sex drive," and "sexually open") and interests (he chose, among others, Dungeons & Dragons, food, reading, and philosophy). The companies that create these types of custom chatbots--including Glimpse AI (which developed Nomi), Chai Research, Replika, Character.AI, Kindroid, Polybuzz, and MyAI from Snap, among others--tout their products as safe options for personal exploration and even cures for the loneliness epidemic. Many people have had positive, or at least harmless, experiences. However, a darker side of these applications has also emerged, sometimes veering into abusive, criminal, and even violent content; reports over the past year have revealed chatbots that have encouraged users to commit suicide, homicide, and self-harm. But even among these incidents, Nowatzki's conversation stands out, says Meetali Jain, the executive director of the nonprofit Tech Justice Law Clinic.

In-car Voice Assistants (VAs) play an increasingly critical role in automotive user interface design. However, existing VAs primarily perform simple 'query-answer' tasks, limiting their ability to sustain drivers' long-term attention. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of an in-car Robot Assistant (RA) that offers functionalities beyond voice interaction. We aim to answer the question: How does the presence of a social robot impact user experience in real driving scenarios? Our study begins with a user survey to understand perspectives on in-car VAs and their influence on driving experiences. We then conduct non-driving and on-road experiments with selected participants to assess user experiences with an RA. Additionally, we conduct subjective ratings to evaluate user perceptions of the RA's personality, which is crucial for robot design. We also explore potential concerns regarding ethical risks. Finally, we provide a comprehensive discussion and recommendations for the future development of in-car RAs.

What if, instead of seeking out a charger and plugging in for half an hour, you could swap out your depleted EV battery for a new one in just five minutes? That's the question asked by Nio, a 7-year-old Chinese electric car company with a network of more than 1,300 battery-swap stations for doing exactly that. However, the vast majority of these stations are in China, with 100 in Shanghai alone, serving customers who mostly live in apartments and lack the space to install a charger at home. Customers buy the car but lease the battery, with the monthly fee granting them access to the swap station network. By contrast, there are currently only 27 so-called Power Swap Stations in Europe, across Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, but more are supposedly in the pipeline.

Artificial Intelligence (or AI) is already being widely deployed across industries, sometimes in ways you wouldn't even have imagined. The financial sector, which is heavily regulated, may not seem like an industry that would be poised to harness cutting-edge technology. But with the right planning, regulatory experts, and smart selection of use cases, AI can be put to work for the good of the employees and customers. AI in banking and finance can also lead to huge cost savings, within different business units or channels. There are three main channels where banks can use artificial intelligence.

As mentioned in a previous post, our NIO Day on December 28, 2019 was produced entirely by our users, which are NIO vehicle owners. In addition to a resounding performance by the Blue Sky Chorus some interesting and insightful stories about NIO and NOMI (the first-ever in-vehicle artificial intelligence) were shared. One of the stories included a NIO owner, his wife, and their beloved cat, Jin. As the story unfolds in the video, the couple adopted a disabled cat. Because of the frequent visits to the vet that the cat required, NOMI was able to gain insights about the music that the NIO users listened to en route to the veterinary office and the items that they purchased using NOMI's voice commands.