Google is looking to creative writers and comedians to help humanize Assistant

Why was the patriot pig wearing tap shoes?

Because it was in the pen dance day.

That’s a bad joke. Even by smart home assistant standards it’s a bad joke. It’s one that Alexa told me last week while I was reviewing the new Echo Dot. That’s the thing — however intelligent your AI might be, that doesn’t mean it’s got a good sense of humor.

To really set itself apart from the likes of Alexa and Siri, the next great artificially intelligent assistant is going to need some better material. For its part, Google is looking to step up its new Assistant’s game with writers who have honed their skills with gigs at some beloved places

All of this is part of a bid to move the products from simple Q&A ‘bots to the kind of thing a user might actually form an honest to goodness emotional connection with, as though Her weren’t enough of a cautionary tale already. According The Wall Street Journal’s vaguely ominously titled article Your Next Friend Could Be a Robot, Google Home has already picked up some folks from places like The Onion and Pixar, somewhat echoing Anki’s recent hiring spree for its adorable upcoming robot, Cozmo.

And from the looks of it, the company is still looking for qualified candidates. A current Google listing is seeking a candidate with “experience writing dialogue for plays/screenplays, fiction/interactive fiction, and/or comedy/entertainment.”

Who said there are no good gigs for liberal arts majors anymore?

via CNET