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We need 'funnier' devices, says Google

The tech giant is using comedy writers to create an edgier artificial intelligence system.

The 2013 movie 'Her' was about a lonely writer developing an unlikely relationship with an operating system that was designed to meet his every need. That may take a while to happen, but soon, conversations with your 'smart gadgets' may end with punch-lines that have been created by hand-picked writers.

Tech sites citing a recent Wall Street Journal report are abuzz with the news of Google hiring comedy and joke writers from animation giant Pixar and satirical publication The Onion, to work on the new edition of the Google Assistant- an artificial intelligence voice service. The aim is to give the AI more personality, and make it edgy and vibrant.

Google Home, a soon to be launched voice-activated product that brings in the Google Assistant via a Wi-Fi-connected speaker, and the upcoming Google Pixel phone will feature the new Assistant voice service.

Earlier this year, an article in tech site Motherboard had taken a more in-depth look at how joke-telling robots were the final frontier in artificial intelligence, with experts recognising this basic challenge that 'anything that is inherently human is always very difficult to translate into a computer'

Users of Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa (part of Amazon Echo, which is also a hands-free speaker you control with voice) are reasonably acquainted with 'funny artificial intelligence'. Google Home wants to feel even more alive and less templated. So in comes the comedic talent.

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