From AI girlfriends to travel agents, technology just got real

The buzzword of the year so far has to be AI. As the technology continues to advance at a dizzying pace, it seems every area of our professional or personal lives will involve some form of AI. From virtual assistants that can manage our schedules to AI-generated companions that provide emotional support, the capabilities of this transformative technology are truly astounding.

One of the most intriguing applications of AI is in the realm of personal relationships. As Colin Fitzpatrick, a leading expert in AI and web3 technologies, told The Crypto Radio, we are on the cusp of a future where AI-powered digital assistants will become increasingly commonplace. "There is a platform that has these AI personas, and it's kind of weird, because a lot of teenagers are basically getting addicted to these," he said.

"You've got teenage boys who are living in their mother's basement and they don't have any money, and girls won't talk to them, so they have an AI girlfriend, and it's perfect, because it never judges them, and it's super nice to them all the time," added Fitzpatrick, who is also the chief business development officer for GriffinAI.

While the idea of an AI-generated romantic partner may seem unsettling to some, Fitzpatrick believes that this trend is only the beginning. "In two to three years, max, we're going to have, you'll put in your air pods, and you'll have Jessica, or whoever it is, and it will be just like talking to a real person," he predicted. "It will become the best personal assistant you've ever had. But it'll also become your friend."

Stranger than fiction

The movie Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix, offers a glimpse into this potential future, where a man develops a deep emotional connection with his AI-powered virtual assistant. Fitzpatrick sees this as a realistic portrayal of what's to come. "That is, in my opinion, the very, very best movie of how I think things are going to pan out," he said.

But the implications of AI-powered companions go beyond just personal relationships. Fitzpatrick believes that these AI agents will also revolutionize the way we approach our professional lives. "Google announced some AI agents that operate in Gmail, and you can go in and go ‘Search through my Gmail for quotes for fixing my roof. Put them on the spreadsheet and make me the recommendations of which company has the best reviews and who I should go to’, and it will do it. It's amazing.

“Or you could go ‘All right, I've got a trip to Paris next week. I need you to book me a ticket for that event. I want you to get me a car at the airport. I only want to fly direct. And I want an Airbnb within two miles of this place’, and it will do it. So I think all of these are things are super cool and amazing.”

Fitzpatrick emphasizes that businesses that fail to embrace AI and integrate it into their operations will be left behind. "If you run a business, you want to be putting AI agents at the top of your priority list. If you have a business that involves a lot of physical labor, you want to be looking at what's going to be happening around robots coming out. Because the people who do get to the forefront of this and actually utilize these tools will have such a massive advantage that they really will be king."

For even an AI expert such as Fitzpatrick, the mindshift is huge. “Technology before has only ever been about tools that we can use that speed things up or make it better. But now, these tools are going to start doing stuff that we used to do before. For me I find that both scary and exciting."