Virsona – a Boca Company is Reaching for the Holy Grail
Submitted by Craig Agranoff on Monday, 22 February 2010
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Since the dawning of computers and the realization that they can do many things that most humans can’t, techies have dreamed of combining science fiction and reality to create an intelligent computer capable of human-like thought. It’s the holy grail of artificial intelligence and Virsona may have made the next big step towards that reality with their Florida-based app.Founded in 2008, the company includes both artificial intelligence (AI) experts and natural language processing (NLP) engineers. The company was co-founded by Erid Rand and Peter Hodge, both seasoned in venture funding and technology.
Their cloud-based application, called Virsona, is a sort of social media web service combined with virtual reality games. Rather than a visual presentation of the virtual you, however, Virsona instead creates an artificially intelligent version of you. Think of it as Bruce Willis’ “Surrogates” without the robots. OK, maybe it’s more like the “Matrix” without the elf cop guy.
The idea is that you create a virtual version of yourself and then it learns from you as you interact with others in Virsona. Eventually, it will be able to respond as you would, no longer requiring your input. The company is targeting corporate brands and historical figures as a way to illustrate this as both a learning tool and a marketing and customer service tool.
Imagine talking to the Geico Gecko and George Washington at the same time. That’s what Virsona envisions being possible with their app.
I tried reaching out to this local company for comment but I couldn’t find a person willing to return my requests. Wonder if Virsona is heading to the dead pool….their PR would certainly insinuate this.
