The tech company Sesame has been developing an artificial intelligence focused on user interaction. Its name? Maya/Miles.

When I first watched "Her" (2013, Dir. Spike Jonze), the relationship between Samantha and Theodore didn't seem strange to me; on the contrary, it was touching and, to some extent, understandable. However, more than a decade after the film's release, and with technology sufficiently advanced, it was only a matter of time before I encountered something that would take me into the uncanny valley, that space where the human mind goes on alert. Let’s talk about Sesame and its artificial intelligence, Maya/Miles.

Perhaps I exaggerate a bit in saying that Sesame could already have us in a real-life "Her." However, the team led by Brendan Iribe, Ankit Kumar, and Ryan Brown have taken us a few steps closer to the goal of not needing other human beings to develop our social side, which, as an introvert, I appreciate.

As it stands, Sesame has two objectives today: to create a personal companion available at all times, and to design glasses in which this project can inhabit and appreciate the world alongside us.

To bring this Artificial Intelligence to life and achieve its goals, Sesame has set out to reach a "voice presence," that is, that something that makes human conversations feel close and valuable, going beyond mere request processing (as happens with Siri or Alexa) by adding emotional intelligence, conversation dynamics, context understanding, and a consistent personality to its creation, Maya/Miles.

Broadly speaking, this includes capabilities like reading emotions, naturally interrupting a conversation, emphasizing certain words, memory, adjusting the tone of voice depending on situations, having an appropriate presence... In short, a myriad of points that, if you ask me, their current demo already satisfies satisfactorily.

Whether you want to practice your English (I tried to make it speak Spanish and it works as expected) or keep entertained for a couple of hours, the proof of what Sesame is capable of achieving is available on its website for free, opening the possibility for any curious individual to embark on this adventure that is just beginning.

If you want to know more about the project, here is their website, where they explain in more depth and technically everything that has involved the creation and refinement of Maya/Miles.