Linden Lab just Alpha launched an AI/NPC character builder for Premium Plus Second Life users in collaboration with Convai, the startup that tested out some NPCs in SL earlier this year (to somewhat dubious if comical results). Now they're rolling out an entire toolkit:
The Character Designer provides a solid foundation for immersive roleplay, offering a range of features that let you shape and refine the personalities and behaviors of your inworld characters. Current capabilities include:
Early-Stage Roleplay Support – Characters respond intelligently through IM, adapting and evolving as you interact.
Custom Personalities and Backstories – Define unique histories, preferences, and communication styles to bring your characters to life.
Integration with Existing SL Systems – Connect through a dedicated alt account, set arrival points, and fine-tune behavior filters for a seamless inworld experience.
As this is an alpha release, several improvements are planned:
Expanded Communication – Beyond IM-based interactions, future updates will include local and group chat support.
Voice Integration – Upcoming versions will allow characters to speak, enhancing immersion.
Contextual Awareness – Characters will gain awareness of nearby objects and avatars, enabling more relevant responses.
Advanced Actions – Over time, characters may perform tasks like exchanging inventory items or changing outfits.
Extended Configuration Options – Additional LLM models and Character Designer APIs will provide greater customization and integration possibilities.
More here. To judge by early community response as here on /SecondLife, there's much more consternation, than enthusiasm.
"We already have a problem with a LOT of residents staying logged in and being AFK a majority of the time," as SL author Hari Sutherland just put it to me. "Sim owners place animesh faux people in sims already. Add in NPCs, and the chances of human-to-human interaction, growing community, and forging friendships plummets... it's just statistics."
This is an Alpha launch available only to a few thousand Premium+ users, so we may see these concerns addressed before the official launch.
In the meantime, if you are planning to play with these tools, be careful with what the AI characters you create say. Reddit host Coffee Pancake points out a pretty perilous warning in the documentation, if you uncheck the subject matter filter:
Important Notice: Responsibility When Disabling the Moderation Filter
By unchecking the "Use subject matter filter" option, please be aware of the following:
Your Responsibility: You are solely responsible for all content generated by your AI character without the moderation filter. This includes any messages or interactions it produces.
Compliance: All outputs from your AI character must comply with all policies, guidelines, terms of service, and terms and conditions of Linden Lab and Second Life. Violations may result in the loss of access to the Character Designer tool or account bans. Please ensure your AI's content adheres to these rules to avoid any violations.
Possible Exposure to Inappropriate Content: Disabling the filter may lead to your AI character generating content that is explicit, offensive, or inappropriate. Such content may not be suitable for all audiences.
I.E., as Pancake puts it: "By agreeing to this, the bot, a literal black box I have no control over, can be made to say stupid shit and I would be entirely responsible for it. This includes ACCOUNT BAN."
I do understand this clause being there, what with all the LLMs/chabots recently going into racist tirades or telling minors to commit suicide. But I'm also sure some people playing with these tools won't know what they might unleash.
But again, this is an Alpha launch to a limited number of SLers, so let's see how it plays out. In the meantime, I'll be talking to Linden Lab next week about this and other topics -- stay tuned.
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James, I agree with seeing how it plays out...it's early days, and we don't have all the facts yet. But.
First, I'm generally very sympathetic to LL, and think we should all recognize that almost *any* change they implement is going to upset someone (though it would be nice to see people respond with less rage and invective). But even with all the goodwill in the word, to announce this without a lot of clarity over the underlying reasoning seems at the minimum very tone-deaf. If the AI NPCs were restricted to newbie guidance and maybe limited customer support roles, and *clearly marked* as NPCs, good -- most residents would likely be fine with that. But they are not, and will be everywhere in a year.
After giving this a lot of thought, I can only surmise that LL's thinking behind this move is:
1. As sim owners start to disseminate NPCs in their sims, newbies especially will see a more populated world and retention rates *may* improve. (This is a calculated risk: for all our grumbling, few IF ANY veteran residents are likely to actually leave, and never mind the resentment, frustration, and disenfranchisement many feel as a consequence of this move.) The NPC logins will also make concurrency look better. And as two people have now pointed out to me, younger players and gamers used to NPCs in virtual worlds will be fine with NPCs being common, and even welcome it.
2. Since only Premium Plus owners can employ NPCs, there'll be a moderate uptick in new PP accounts; at $20/month, that's a US200k revenue bump if just a thousand users sign up; small beer, but vendors will also see a tiny bump in sales as the NPCs need bodies, heads, clothes, etc.
I can't help but think I'm missing something as regards LL's reasons for this move, because these last (P+ signups and a few extra sales) seem like small benefits when weighed against the already manifest ill-will among the community this announcement has generated.
I'm not personally anti-AI, but here's my concern: the dilution of human residents as a percentage of avatars. Imagine: you're in a dance club alone and want to chat to someone; after several unanswered IMs because of dancers being afk (afk over 15-20 minutes should be banned! LOL), you get a reply. Joy! But after a few minutes, you realize you're talking to a bot. Honestly? I'd just X out after hitting a couple of those: I prefer human connections. But I may be in the minority.
My other concern is, who'll use the NPCs? Not any of the successful sim owners, but the empty or less well-designed clubs/beaches/adult venues/etc will deploy them by the handsful. NPCs won't tip DJs or hosts, but anyone searching places and looking at the map to see if they're busy will likely be drawn to a sim stuffed with NPCs. Some will not care, but for those who criticize every change this will degrade trust in the platform further still.
Bottom line: this may not work out badly at all in the medium and long term, but I think the announcement could have been MUCH better communicated by explaining the goal and reasoning to avoid exacerbating the already problematic "us-against-them" sentiment between many older residents and LL. It was the same with the PBR viewer ragefest: if FS and LL/SL had gone to more trouble to inform the community in 36pt bold red type that the new viewer would not work at all well unless properly whitelisted etc., there'd have been far less fury and rageposts evrywhere.
Maybe the takeaway is that it's always better to overcommunicate rather underxplain. Never assume people are going to rational or read instructions, etc. Employ focus groups. LL does need to communicate better still at every step -- it's started, but IMO has a ways to go.
And as far as the SL community goes, we might show some consideration for the people at LL rather than portraying them as the enemy, or greedy corporate thugs. We're all on the same side, and let's show some gratitude for what we have in SL.
Hey, SL could be owned by Zuckerberg. Think about THAT! ;-)
Posted by: Haridsam | Sunday, December 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Okay, I'm way behind the fast-moving curve:
https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/518839-what-do-you-think-about-the-new-ai-character-designer/page/17/#findComment-2839221
There's a whole thread on this. Huge kudos to Darcy and the Lindens for making the community feel they were heard. Communication is everything.
Posted by: Haridsam | Sunday, December 22, 2024 at 05:44 PM