I blogged about AI-powered NPC conversations from startup Convai last year (see demo below), and today's there's news that Linden Lab will use this technology in Second Life:
Convai has joined forces with industry giants such as Frost Giant Studios, Linden Lab, and Carbonated to integrate AI NPCs into their games. These collaborations underscore the growing demand for AI-driven characters in gaming and virtual worlds, with Convai’s technology driving engagement and utility for end-users.
“We’re excited to partner with Convai to bring its conversational AI into Second Life to add new and exciting engagement experiences to our community,” says Brad Oberwager, chairman of Linden Lab, in a statement. “This partnership is just the latest example of our ongoing commitment to innovation in virtual worlds as Second Life has been a pioneer and leader in the establishment of digital economies, cultures, and communities. These AI characters can not only ease the learning curve for new users by providing necessary information, but also help entertain and engage them by giving them a tour of the virtual world, carrying out different actions based on conversation, and connecting them with other players and characters.
Emphasis mine. Given the particular wording, the likeliest use case for Second Life is addressing the first-time user experience, which remained the core friction point for growing the virtual world's user base. Roughly 99% of new users never return, overwhelmed by the complex user interface, and the intimidation of a virtual world that's not a traditional game with clear goals/rewards. An AI-powered Liaison Linden could definitely help address some of this challenge.
Then again, that doesn't mean AI is the panacea to Second Life's core problem!
For one thing, LLM-based NPCs will be notoriously unreliable and need quite a bit of training not to hallucinate. For another, I'm concerned that starting new users off with an NPC companion will distort their impression about Second Life culture, which is all about actual live users and live user communities. Finally (to judge by the demo above), the NPC interactions are still very much in the soulless, uncanny valley area.
Then again, I'm also open to the possibility that an AI companion will be less stressful than dealing with a live human assistant/volunteer, especially for new users who already feel overwhelmed, and want some time by themself to get acclimated.
Anyway, we'll see. MMO game designer Damion Schubert made some interesting points when this tech was first unveiled:
Storytelling in games is ALREADY much harder than other forms of media because we don't control the pace of delivery, or (frequently) the order players encounter story nuggets. Hell, we have to deal with players putting down their controllers for a week and reengaging.
As such, narrative design is an incredibly important and incredibly delicate design field. Because it's about the EXPERIENCE and not the NARRATIVE.
It's not going to be achievable simply by about firing all your writers and replacing them with robots.
Or to apply it to Linden Lab, growing the user base is (probably) not going to be achievable by adding robotic community managers!
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Wagner James Au / New World Notes 
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