We Requested a City Tour from Artificial Intelligence – The Outcome? Delightful Mayhem!

“We Asked AI to Take Us On a Tour of Our Cities. It Was Chaos”

“‘Littlefoot, an AI from a team of engineers at Google, is learning to master the art of planning your next vacation. And if it works, it would be a godsend for anyone forever stuck in trip-planning hell’. Why not? Trips can be hell, right? And I’m sure you’re waiting with bated breath for the next overachiever coming out of Google’s factory.

The quoted line is not from a science fiction novel, it is about Littlefoot. That’s the affectionate, albeit juvenile, name given to the AI tech Google’s team is training. This electronic wizard aims to alleviate the agony of planning trips, by becoming an overachieving virtual travel agent.

Here’s the skinny on tech’s latest toy. Littlefoot’s learning includes grasping human habits, understanding what kind of eateries and accommodation you prefer, and when you like to take to the open road or fly through the sky. The AI then takes the reins of your holiday itinerary and does all the hard work. It’s like a personal Jeeves, without the charming British accent.

Moreover, Littlefoot is a product of Google’s work on reinforcement learning. But instead of using it to beat a chess whiz or Go champion, Littlefoot’s set its goal on beating humans at vacation planning. Evidently, the world of linear algebra and complex algorithms have become too passe for our high-achieving AI friends.

The best part? Littlefoot doesn’t need to chitchat to process your request. No more explaining your lactose intolerance or fear of heights to a human travel agent who’d rather discuss last night’s reality TV show. This bot gets it all sorted seamlessly.

As for customer service, Littlefoot might just set a new industry standard. It uses previous feedback for its growth, effectively turning it into its own critic. Just imagine never having to explain yourself twice – a concept far too elusive for most human customer service reps.

So, will this tech standout be the answer to our travel-arranging nightmares? Who knows. The planet hasn’t been explored in its entirety by Littlefoot just yet. For now, we just have to ‘Google’ it the old-fashioned way. All while eagerly waiting for the vacation planner of the future, and secretly hoping the learning process includes deciphering the most cryptic of all human behaviours: procrastinating over trip planning.”

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/littlefoot-ai-chatbot-travel-planner/