Microsoft recently abandoned an experiment in AI by launching "Tay" on social media, then having to take her down and re-boot her after 'teaching' her not to be racist of homophobic. Good news/bad news: Another crisis for Microsoft. The second launch of the AI chatbot did not go as well as the first. "Tay" was created to simulate a teen-age American girl, in thought, speech and mannerisms. The launch on Twitter went smoothly enough, with "Tay" learning from what people were saying and 'acting her millennial age', emojis, pop culture references and all. However, within a day her Tweets turned racist, homophobic, hateful and xenophobic. Microsoft acted swiftly to disable her - not swiftly enough, however, as the Tweets went viral and the story was picked up and rebroadcast in the global media (examples can be found here, here, here and here).
This is a striking learning opportunity for Crisis Management:
Postscript: as advanced and accelerating as AI is, its not ready for prime time, especially in a crisis!
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Denouement: MSFT re-activated the new, improved Tay after 'counseling' her on not being 'inappropriate'. Shortly after her re-debut, she tweeted about smoking kush in front of a police car, then had an emotional breakdown and went into a tweet-spamming loop. MSFT took her offline again. I hear she's resting comfortably and getting the care she deserves.
This is a striking learning opportunity for Crisis Management:
- Tone is very important. So is speed. Microsoft is to be commended in their swift reaction, and for striking the proper tone (their announcement can be found here)
- That said, no matter how fast you are, the world will be faster. The Internet cannot be out-raced. Therefore, organizations with a crisis will by definition be reactive and playing catch-up, at least in the early stages
- How can your enterprise close this gap, move from reactive to proactive to preemptive and eventually get in front? Have a Crisis Management/ Crisis Communications program. Getting the foundation in place, pre-scripting responses and having the tools and team competency is vital to avoiding delayed and ad-hoc ineffective responses and reverberating the crisis. Think about having to get from Point A to Point B? Easier and faster to already have the roads paved, trucks ready to roll and drivers with current licenses and maps in hand? Or staring from scratch? A proper Crisis Management Program has essential elements: Plans, Process and Practice. Does yours?
- A key success factor for Crisis Management is that it is baked into the organization's end-to-end processes and DNA. The way, the program can respond to unintended consequences of normal business operations, especially automated ones. Shortly after the Brussels terrorist attack and airport closure, I received an automated Our Best Deals email from a leading online travel agency, advertising flights to... Brussels! (to their credit, the company tweeted out condolences and other messages shortly after)
- Cultural differences should be accounted for in crisis communication. Note the differences of point-of-view in the stories from the UK and the US, and even the political nuances between the Washington Post and Washington Times, in the links above. (Spoiler alert - today, all crises are global and multicultural)
- The Internet is a force multiplier for communications, both positive and negative. Human nature being what it is, the bad will always have more legs than the good
- Speaking of human nature, this is not Tay's fault. Social and other media are a reflection of us. Like most crisis events, Tay-Gate is not about hardware or software, it's about wet-ware!
Postscript: as advanced and accelerating as AI is, its not ready for prime time, especially in a crisis!
Want to learn more? Click here to continue the conversation!
Denouement: MSFT re-activated the new, improved Tay after 'counseling' her on not being 'inappropriate'. Shortly after her re-debut, she tweeted about smoking kush in front of a police car, then had an emotional breakdown and went into a tweet-spamming loop. MSFT took her offline again. I hear she's resting comfortably and getting the care she deserves.