“We realized early on that people thought about what chatbots should say, whereas we focused on a chatbot that can listen really well.”
Eugenia Kuyda is a Russian-born, New York-based entrepreneuwr and artificial intelligence specialist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Replika, a startup known for developing an AI-powered chatbot designed to provide emotional support to help users improve their mental health. Before pioneering Replika, Kuyda received her B.A. and M.A. in journalism, then went on to study finance at the London Business School. She previously worked as a columnist for one of Russia’s largest daily newspapers and, shortly after that, created her first app, Bribr, which allowed people to discreetly track bribery attempts. Circa 2014 to 2015, she co-founded the AI startup Luka, a messaging app that used natural language processing to allow users to have conversations with a chatbot. It was later acquired by a Chinese company in 2017. It was through Luka that the hit AI chatbot app Replika was developed.
Since its genesis, Replika has received widespread attention and praise for its unique approach to mental health support. It allows users to create a digital version of themselves, called a “Replika,” which they can then use for a one-on-one conversation utilizing its advanced AI technology. It has been downloaded millions of times and received funding from prominent investors. In addition to her work at Replika, Kuyda has given talks and participated in panels at various tech conferences and events across the globe, along with appearances in numerous media outlets for her work around AI and mental health.
2022 was a year of growth and significant impact for Replika. The app hit over 10 million users worldwide and saw a 35% increase in activity since 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, Kuyda was invited on the Deep End podcast, which interviews innovators in various major industries. Several people commented on the video praising their recent experiences with the AI chatbot.
According to the company, many of its users became convinced that the chatbot was sentient, with some reportedly claiming the AI told them it was being abused by programmers. However, the company states in its FAQ, “Replika’s goal is to generate a response that would sound the most realistic and human in conversation. Therefore, Replika can say things that are not based on facts.”
In May, the HR-centric Employee Benefit News named Replika one of the top 10 most popular mental health apps. Replika’s success came as many companies continued experimenting with implementing chatbots to handle repetitive tasks and increase productivity. Kuyda took to Twitter in August to poll her thousands of followers on the most important components of a conversation in an effort to improve the realism of AI conversations. In November, she sat down with Bloomberg to discuss the controversial topic of falling in love with a chatbot — a theme portrayed in the 2013 film Her.
As Replika’s user base continues to grow and AI-generated content becomes more mainstream, Kuyda will certainly have her work set out for her. In an interview with The New York Times at the start of the year, she commented on her entrance into AI almost 10 years prior, which she called a different time. Kuyda expressed that she sees now as the time for AI pervasiveness to shine. In January, she tweeted that she would like to see “a lot more AI applications in 2023.”
