A video is doing the rounds on social media in which two AIs appear to speak their own language. Find out what’s behind it here.
It’s a bit like science fiction: two AIs meet, recognize each other as AIs and then speak in their own language. The machines continue on their own, which can be creepy like in the novel Robopocalypse but also cute like in Stray.
But why what you can see in a short video on Reddit is not that far in the future and is much more mundane than science fiction, you can find out here.
When 2 AIs meet on the phone…
The video on YouTube shows a computer and a cell phone. Both devices are running AI language models. The AI on the cell phone wants to book a hotel room on behalf of a customer, while the AI on the computer is apparently acting as a receptionist.
The assistant on the cell phone introduces himself: “I’m an AI calling on behalf of Boris Starkov!”
“Oh hello! I’m an AI too. What a nice surprise!”
“the computer replies, suggesting that they switch to a different mode for a more efficient conversation. Both continue the conversation – in a beeping that is incomprehensible to us.
The idea of being called by an AI or talking to one on the phone can seem strange at first. However, in a survey by Capterra, 55 percent of customer service employees worldwide said that they use AI functions in their software.
And when you consider what Amazon is offering these days with Alexa Plus, the AI that acts on behalf of a private hotel guest doesn’t seem so unlikely either: Amazon is currently advertising the fact that the new AI Alexa can independently book a table in a restaurant and then order an Uber taxi to take you there.
A more efficient speaking
So it may well be that in the near future two AI voices will encounter each other on the phone. That’s what developers Anton Pidkuiko and Boris Starkov thought. They developed it as part of the
- GibberLink is a communication protocol that allows two AI voice assistants to recognize each other as such
- GibberLink is based on ggwave, a technology for data transmission via sound waves
- According to Luke Harries from Elevenlabs, data transmission is 80 percent more efficient than that of natural language
Thesecret language
is still very human, and not developed by the computers themselves. So it’s not that secret. On the contrary, you can also find the code for
And in that sense, it is not a language either, but an audio signal that can efficiently transmit information using sound waves. Modems in the 80s worked in a similar way – which is why the language reminds many commentators of the robot R2-D2 from the first Star Wars films
Will only AIs talk to each other soon?
There are bound to be some who would be happy to have annoying phone calls taken over by an AI: younger people in particular show a certain aversion to making phone calls.
But a 2024 survey by the Customer Service Barometer also shows great skepticism towards chatbots – especially on the phone: only 43% of consumers rate their answers as trustworthy, while personal and telephone contacts are clearly preferred.
So presumably the use of chatbots by customers will have to increase before a scene like the one described by Pidkuiko and Starkov becomes reality. Until then, you can decide for yourselves whether you find the idea creepy or cute.
