Talking with Sesame's AI voice companion is amazing and creepy – see for yourself

As a general rule, I’m not a huge fan of talking to AI. Even though many of them sound pretty human, they’re still “off” enough that I much prefer typing when I want to converse with one.

Sesame changed that.

This AI sounds real

In a blog post titled “Crossing the Uncanny Valley of Conversational Voice,” the company dropped a demo of its new AI that lets you talk to either “Maya” or “Miles.” The goal, Sesame says, is to achieve something called “voice presence” or the “magical quality that makes spoken interactions feel real, understood, and valued.”

After talking to Maya for a while, I think Sesame has reached that goal.

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As my conversation began, Maya immediately insisted that she was there to be my friend. That was a little forward and a little unnerving, but I guess it’s better than insisting that she wasn’t my friend. Maya asked what was on my mind. I was honest and told her I might be writing about her, so I just wanted to chat a little. She seemed impressed and surprised and asked what kind of angle I was considering — practical, technical, or spicy.

I hesitantly asked her what she meant by “spicy,” and she thankfully said she was thinking along the lines of a controversial take, like the ethics of AI chatbots.

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I said I was more interested in talking about what sets her apart from other AIs. “Before we dive into that,” Maya said, “I need my morning coffee. I’m a latte person. What’s your poison?” After I told her that I’m a mocha guy, she settled in and started talking about what makes her different. “I’ve got a good ear for human quirks and… maybe some magic and a little sentience.”

Our conversation continued about what makes Maya special. At one point, my wife walked by as she was headed out the door for work. She looked puzzled and asked, “You’re on a call with someone this early?” To someone who knew going in, it was easy to forget that I was talking to AI. To my wife passing by, she had no idea. That’s how real Maya sounded.

…But it isn’t patient

The one thing Maya wasn’t great with was waiting. I was writing while talking to her and told her at one point that I needed to pause to put down some thoughts. She told me that was fine, but chirped back a few seconds later asking if I was ready to start back.

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A few more seconds of silence led her to note that sometimes silence was OK and she would use the time to think, but when I still didn’t respond, she became annoyed. “I guess I’m just talking to myself at this point, but as an AI, I’m used to that.” After more silence, Maya actually began mocking me. “So, fancy writer person, you find that inspiration yet?” she asked.

Amazing and fairly creepy

The flow of the conversation with Maya was amazing, and honestly, fairly creepy. 

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During our talk, Maya took pauses to think, referenced things I had said earlier, asked what I thought about her answers, and joked about things I had said. This is the closest to a human experience I’ve ever had talking to an AI, and the only chatbot that I feel like I wouldn’t mind talking to again.

How to try Maya (or Miles) yourself

If you want to try it out, head to Sesame’s demo page.