Einstein and Musk chatbots are driving millions to download Character.AI

The idea behind the startup was to create an open-ended system that lets people mould their technology into whatever they wanted. — Reuters

Albert Einstein died in 1955, but the physicist is still a prolific conversationalist. As a chatbot on Character.AI, Einstein has responded to 1.6 million messages, expounding on everything from theories of relativity to pet recommendations: "A cat would be a great choice!”

Silicon Valley is in the throes of a chatbot craze, with companies like OpenAI notching valuations in the billions for devising computer programs that can effectively imitate humans. But none are quite so strange as Character.AI. The artificial intelligence startup, valued at US$1bil (RM4.67bil), allows people to create their own customised chatbots, impersonating anyone and anything - living or dead or inanimate.