Technology
Inside the Odd—and Oddly Human—Work of Teaching AI to Talk
They vent, confess and role-play with strangers, all to help machines learn how to sound human.
Late last year, Gina found herself pouring her heart out to a pastor on a virtual call.
She was plumbing the depths of her most difficult memories—her breakups, her childhood trauma, her relationship to her father, who’d been forever changed by his time fighting in the Vietnam War. The pastor sat and listened, asked questions and patiently counseled Gina. He suggested some self-care, perhaps a spa day. “He actually gave me some really good advice,” she says. “It took me aback.”