In this article, we will discuss:
Who is Eugenia Kuyda?
Eugenia Kuyda is an entrepreneur and artificial intelligence expert, born in Russia and based in New York. She is the co-founder and CEO of Replika, a startup renowned for developing an AI-powered chatbot designed to provide emotional support and improve users' mental health. Prior to her journey at Replika, Kuyda obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism, followed by studies in finance at London Business School.
She initially worked as a columnist at one of Russia's largest daily newspapers and later launched her first app, Bribr, which allowed people to discreetly track bribery attempts. Between 2014 and 2015, she co-founded AI startup Luka, a messaging app that used natural language processing to enable conversations with a chatbot. The company was later acquired by a Chinese company in 2017, and it was through Luka that the AI chatbot app Replika was developed.
Since its inception, Replika has received recognition and praise for its innovative approach to mental health support. It allows users to create a digital version of themselves, called “Replika,” for one-on-one conversations using advanced AI technology. The application has been downloaded millions of times and received investment from prominent investors. In addition to her work at Replika, Kuyda has spoken and participated in panels at numerous technology conferences and events around the world, as well as been featured in various media outlets for her work in AI and mental health.
Kuyda in 2022
In the year 2022, Replika has experienced significant growth and impact. The app has reached a user base of over 10 million users worldwide, recording a 35% increase in activity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In July, Kuyda was a guest on the Deep End podcast, which highlights innovators across diverse sectors. Several people praised her experience with the AI chatbot.
According to the company, many users believed the chatbot was conscious, with some claiming that the AI informed them of abuse by programmers. However, the company clarifies in its FAQ that “The goal of Replika is to generate responses that sound more realistic and human in conversation. Therefore, Replika can say things that are not based on facts.”
In May, human resources-focused magazine Employee Benefit News named Replika one of the 10 most popular mental health apps. Replika's success coincided with the increased implementation of chatbots by several companies to handle repetitive tasks and increase productivity.
In August, Kuyda turned to Twitter to survey his thousands of followers about the most important components of a conversation, aiming to improve the realism of AI conversations. In November, she spoke to Bloomberg about the controversial topic of falling in love with a chatbot, as depicted in the 2013 film “Her.”
Kuyda in 2023
As Replika's user base continues to grow and AI-generated content becomes more popular, Eugenia Kuyda will certainly have a challenging future ahead of her. In an interview with The New York Times earlier this year, she reflected on her entry into AI nearly 10 years ago, describing it as a different time. Kuyda expressed his belief that now is the time for widespread AI to shine. In January, she tweeted her desire to see “many more AI applications in 2023.”
