Call My A.I. Agent

Natalie Kitroeff (0:01)

From The New York Times, I'm Natalie Kitroeff. This is The Daily.

Over the last few weeks, millions of people have rushed to download a new class of powerful AI apps called agents. They're incredibly useful, they're honestly kind of cute, and all they need to work is your most sensitive personal information. Today, my colleague, Eli Tan, on why he and so many Americans are opening up their entire lives to technology that we're just beginning to understand. It's Tuesday, October 6th. Eli Tan, first time on The Daily, and we are very happy to have you on the show.

Eli Tan (0:58)

Happy to be here.

Natalie Kitroeff (0:59)

Okay. So we've been talking a lot here recently on The Daily about artificial intelligence gone awry. AI is going rogue, doing things they shouldn't, hacking into places they shouldn't, aka AI behaving badly, doing things that feel scary to a lot of people.

But you, Eli, have been focusing on a very different side of AI, a potentially very helpful version of this technology. And we want to talk about what exactly that has looked like. So just tell us what you've been up to.

Eli Tan (1:32)

For the past few weeks, I've given my life over to this app called Muse, which is an AI agent created by the company Meta. And it's really the first agent of its kind that's been released to the public.

Think of an AI agent as a chatbot that has access to its own computer, where it can use a monitor and a keyboard and a mouse. So instead of just conversing with you, like a person, it can actually go online and do tasks for you and work on its own autonomously in the background for hours at a time.

Natalie Kitroeff (2:07)

Basically, it can be your personal assistant, powered by AI, and not in this case, an AI chatbot, but an AI agent.

Eli Tan (2:16)

Exactly. A personal assistant is what Meta is calling it. And in the world of AI, these agents are a real leap forward in the kind of technology that right now mostly powers chatbots.

Agents can operate software, they can operate apps, they can sign into your accounts. And the hope here is that because these agents can do so much more than chatbots, they can become much more useful in a way that the chatbots have not.

Natalie Kitroeff (2:44)

Well, can it do something for me, this agent?

Eli Tan (2:48)

Yeah, I mean, what do we want to do?

Natalie Kitroeff (2:52)

I have a desire for lunch, a sort of salad-like thing with protein. Can you do that? Can it do that?

Eli Tan (3:01)

It can. Let me ask it right now.

Natalie Kitroeff (3:03)

Okay.

Eli Tan (3:06)

I'm saying my colleague Natalie is hungry for lunch. She wants some kind of salad. Can you order her delivery to the office?

I'm giving it the address and then I'm saying you can use my credit card, which it has on file.

Natalie Kitroeff (3:23)

Okay. I'll pay back.

Eli Tan (3:24)

If you don't pay me back, I'll send you an e-mail reminder in one week, and it'll check my Venmo to see if it ever comes through.

Natalie Kitroeff (3:31)

Wow. Okay. This is a real accountability thing. Got it. Just so I'm clear, so it has your Venmo, it has your credit card.

Is it connected to a delivery service that you have as well?

Eli Tan (3:44)

Yes. It's also signed into my DoorDash account.

Natalie Kitroeff (3:47)

Got it.

Eli Tan (3:48)

And it says, happy to order the lunch.

I'm being asked just to approve that this is the right lunch. So it suggested a Harvest Bowl from Sweetgreen.

Natalie Kitroeff (3:58)

Okay. Unfortunately, that is actually my favorite order from Sweetgreen, so I'm getting a little freaked out.

Eli Tan (4:04)

It's my favorite order too. Maybe that's why.

Natalie Kitroeff (4:06)

Oh, interesting. Okay. So it assumes we have the same taste.

Eli Tan (4:09)

Yes. And then it says, placing the order. And right now, I can actually watch it do this whole task on a little browser window, where I can see its cursor kind of moving through the screen, clicking on the different buttons.

Natalie Kitroeff (4:22)

Are you watching it right now?

Eli Tan (4:23)

I am, yeah. I have it.

Natalie Kitroeff (4:25)

Can I see it?

Eli Tan (4:25)

So here it is. It's typing the address of the office.

Natalie Kitroeff (4:29)

Oh my Lord.

Eli Tan (4:31)

And putting in the order.

Natalie Kitroeff (4:33)

This is nuts.

Eli Tan (4:36)

Lunch is on the web.

Natalie Kitroeff (4:42)