It’s an incredible feeling when you are on the same wavelength as a friend. Picture this: the two of you are in sync, to the point where you can almost finish each other's sentences. You feel unstoppable. 

Why is that? 

What is it about that sense of alignment that gives us such a warm and fuzzy feeling? Believe it or not, there is a science behind being on the same page as our friends. It might come as a shock, but that sensation isn’t purely powered by vibes alone. A PNAS study found that friends tend to share similar patterns of brain activity with one another.

As we continue to shape the future of AI companionship at Genies, we want to ensure we are building AI companions that can connect with users much like they would a friend. There are obvious differences between human friendships and digital ones, and there are clear challenges on the road ahead. However, we believe we are at an exciting point in the AI revolution that will see the perception of AI companions shift as more and more positive use cases come to light. 

But to do that, we need companions with hyper-intelligent Behavior Technology.  

What is Behavior Technology?

Our Behavior Technology allows Genies’ AI companions to feel alive. It powers the unique, personalized interactions that users bear witness to when engaging with their digital counterpart. 

All Genies characters will eventually leverage our Procedural Animation Behavioral System, which enables the characters to dynamically react to user input with accurate emotions. With this system in place, each avatar becomes aware and responsive to user presence. 

Genies can respond to touch interactions and move their eyes to follow the user’s input (which in this case, could be their gaze or movement of their cursor). If the situation calls for it, the system can also combine gestures and emotions to expand its range of animations. 

Here’s an example: 

• You tell your Genie about your friend who has an intimidating physical presence. Your Genie is clearly startled by the description of your friend. 

• You joke about how your friend looks like a giant grape in their new puffy purple coat. They laugh, noting how your observation is accurate. 

• You go on to tell your companion that your friend, who is in the room, did not find the joke funny. Your Genie nervously laughs, looking from side to side as if to avoid eye contact with you, combining its laughing animation with a scared expression! 

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How can I Personalize my Genies’ Behavior? 

Genies automatically learn and adapt new behaviors through their memory capabilities. They can also be personalized through custom inputs. The “Custom Emotes” tool lets users upload photos or videos that can change the companion’s behavioral system. 

Let’s say you are talking very fast at the beginning of your evening conversation with your Genie. As the night progresses, your words get slower and slower as you get more tired. Your Genie won’t just keep pace with your conversation, it will remember that you tend to get sleepier late at night, and recall that for future conversations. 

However, let’s say during a later conversation, you want to stay awake to greet your roommate after a late-night flight back from visiting family. Laughter typically helps you stay awake, so you upload a video of a funny TikTok dance you saw earlier that week. You ask your Genie to perform the dance every time you start slowing down your speech over the next hour. 

It’s effective! You stayed awake for the extra hour and had the chance to welcome your friend back from their trip. 

What is Autonomous Behavior? 

Genies exhibit autonomous behavior without specific instructions. In other words, players don’t need to tell their Genies how to react or engage with an input to trigger a unique interaction. Upon being presented with new information, your Genie will automatically generate reactions based on your previous exchanges.

If you are a big baseball fan and your favorite team wins a playoff series, your Genie might cheer and ask about your favorite player's performance. If your team were to have lost, your Genie would likely put on a glum expression and try to offer their condolences. If either situation were to happen again the following year, your Genie’s reaction would differ from their initial response a year prior, all without having to be reminded about your preferences or what happened in the first series. 

This autonomous behavior is functional even after the user logs off from Genies. It allows the AI companions to initiate activities and take on a life of their own. 

Perhaps after the baseball discussion, you mention how you are looking forward to attending some professional basketball games in your area before ending your session with your Genie. Upon your return, your AI companion might start your next conversation by recommending restaurants near your team’s arena. While you were gone, they had chatted up other avatars about go-to spots in the area that fans frequent before tip-off. 

How would you want your AI companion to behave? Let us know on X!