New Google Messages feature could turn Android users into dry texters
Artificial intelligence or AI has gotten scary good over the past few months and continues to evolve. Students are using AI chatbots to do their homework. Journalists are using them to make their jobs easier. And now, introverts can use them to reply to people without actually replying to them.
Remember the time when crypto was everything and if you didn't invest in it you were considered a loser? Right now, AI is the hottest trend. Eager to be at the forefront of the AI revolution, Google is embedding AI into everything possible. The latest app to get an AI feature is the Messages app. A limited number of users can now try out the Magic Compose function to send out replies on their behalf or rewrite drafts in different styles.
Magic Compose was first previewed earlier this month during Google I/O 2023. The feature is now available to some beta testers, says 9to5Google.
When the feature goes live, users will be prompted to "Try it" when they tap the new sparkle icon after opening an RCS chat. Up to 20 previous messages and all included content - emojis, URLs, image captions, and voice transcriptions - except for attachments, voice messages, and emails will be sent to Google's servers to help Magic Compose come up with relevant and contextual suggestions. The messages will be discarded by Google once a reply is composed.
If you want to try out the feature, sign up for the Messages beta testing program by going to the Play Store. At the moment, only Android users over the age of 18 who reside in the US are eligible to try it.
To the surprise of no one, Google One Premium members will be given priority access.
Catfishing on a new level?
Magic Compose automatically generates responses based on your earlier messages
The automatically generated answers can be great for times when you are in a hurry or your social battery is running low. It can also come in handy in situations when you are not sure if your message sounds right as Magic Compose can change the tone of your message but there are only seven options right now: chill, excited, remix, Shakespeare, lyrical, short, and formal. So in case you want to sound assertive or friendly, you'll have to reword it yourself.
Features like these make you wonder if AI is taking things too far. We are already losing our ability to communicate with people in real life because of over-reliance on social media and the last thing we need is Google typing out our personal messages for us.
But then again, no one is saying that you have to use this feature all the time, but as humans we are pretty good at abusing stuff.
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