The History and Evolution of AI Characters
From watching humanoids in movies to experiencing real-life robots around us, artificial intelligence has evolved over time. Modern technology has created a new world that has embodied the dream of living with machines that can learn, think, and feel. When talking about the different applications of AI and ML, we can find a variety of inventions that fascinate us in plenty of ways.
Among the myriads of modern applications driven by artificial intelligence, AI chart characters are everywhere on the Internet. These characters can be defined as virtual beings with attractive personalities, human-like emotions, and several other interactive features. With so much to talk about, the history and evolution of AI characters serve as a vast topic.
This article shares the complete details about AI characters and their evolution with the advancing technology. Have a look further to realize the beginning and future of an AI-driven world.
The Origins: Early Beginnings and Science Fiction
Primarily, the concept behind AI characters was driven by old myths and legends we are powerful humans who created mechanical beings or golems as servants or assistants. This concept took an interesting shape and modern concept when science fiction writers of the 20th century imagined several AI characters. A prominent result of this imagination was the HAL 9000 from the iconic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It was a high-level AI character with abilities like natural language processing, speech recognition, facial recognition, and lip reading created in 1968 by Arthur C. Clarke. Besides marking history as an iconic character for entertainment lovers, this AI-based computer became the groundwork for scientists.
The Birth of AI in Digital Form
Moving to the era of 1950s and 1960s, researchers John McCarthy and Alan Turing started focusing on the concepts of artificial intelligence and machine learning. While they took this technology to the scientific field, things remained theoretical until the 1980s and 1990s. It was after these decades when the AI characters were transformed from theory two digital realities.
Among the earliest and most outperforming AI characters was the computer program Eliza created by Joseph Weizenbaum. It was a character from the mid-1960s, which according to today was the first ever machine to engage in a human-like conversation. With modernization taking over the gaming industry, popular game characters like Mario and Pac-Man are taken to another level with the introduction of other non-player characters.
Gaming geeks are well aware of the character games like Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda which brought the concept of modern AI characters among the young generation. It was the time when scientists realized how some AI characters can have the ability to adapt, respond, and evolve according to individual preferences.
The Rise of AI Companions
The era of 1990s and 2000s can be considered as the time period of prominent evolution. During these years, noticeable advancements in artificial intelligence changed our everyday lives. By incorporating cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and natural language processing, AI characters were modernized for the better.
During the year 1996, another iconic character was released by Bandai. Tamagotchi, the digital pet was capable of responding to its owner in a human-like manner. It craved attention and care to bond with its owner like an honest companion. Another popular example is Sims, a simulation video game developed by Maxis in 2000.
It was about the everyday lives of people in a suburban setting, where players could control different virtual characters according to their choices. This game is also popular as it introduced the idea of creating AI characters that can live, feel, interact, adapt, and evolve within a digital ecosystem.
The Modern Era: AI Characters in the Age of Personalization
Currently, AI characters are considered an integral part of our everyday lives. We have more sophisticated and personalized examples of Artificial intelligence around us in the form of AI-powered virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. When talking particularly about virtual characters, we can focus on the entertainment industry.
The two popular games Cyberpunk 2077 and Detroit: Become Human revolve around storytelling with complex AI characters that respond according to the player's choices. These characters are considered the main part of the game's story with the ability to evoke emotional reactions by understanding the player.
Besides this, characters are also used on websites for engaging in different conversations. A popular example is the website crushon.AI, which offers virtual characters for friendship and companionship.
The Future: AI Characters Beyond the Screen
The promising evolution of AI characters explains the way humanity is looking forward to replicating the human mind. Because researchers continue to it is the boundary between humans and machines, Artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies will bridge the gap between real and virtual.
In the future, we may come across AI characters that may look more human than their creators.

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