Meena is Google’s first truly conversational AI

google meena ai conversational artificial intelligence virtual assistant technology

Google is attempting to build the first digital assistant that can truly hold a conversation with an AI project called Meena.

Digital assistants like Alexa and Siri are programmed to pick up keywords and provide scripted responses. Google has previously demonstrated its work towards a more natural conversation with its Duplex project but Meena should offer another leap forward.

Meena is a neural network with 2.6 billion parameters. Google claims Meena is able to handle...

Watch out Google Duplex, Microsoft also has a chatty AI

Not content with being outdone by Google’s impressive (yet creepy) Duplex demo, Microsoft has shown it also has an AI capable of making human-like phone calls. The company first launched its XiaoIce project back in August 2017. In April, Microsoft said it had achieved full duplexing — the ability to speak and listen at the same time, similar to humans. Microsoft’s announcement was made before Google’s demonstration earlier this month but, unlike Google, the company had nothing to show...