I am very eager to talk about this week’s material that is being given to us. I came to know about many of the interesting factors which I did not know before especially the Replika thing. It is not a bad thing to take a break from your grief or pain and I think there is no harm if someone use the reboot to talk to just to have some moments of mind peace.

This week’s reading Social Network vs. Online Community was very meaningful and explains both of the terms quite well. Social networks include the people with whom we have relations in the physical world and online communities include the list of people who share the same reason of using an online community as ours. Online communities are being used by the people who share the same interest and same intentions which bring them online.

That’s why people use different apps for different purposes. Many people use the online services for educational purposes, some are in search of friends, some are willing to earn online while some come online for the sake of mental peace. The use of online services varies from person to person. While the people with whom we have the relations in the real world are connected with us in different ways, like some work with us in the same organizations, some are our friends while some are our family members.

This week’s episode of Black Mirror: Be Right Back bring a new twist in the story. A female named Martha is being introduced who is a widow and on the advice of a friend she started using an online service with the help of which you can talk to the departed souls. I find this thing interesting but I will surely not want to use this service. Yes, it is not less than a blindfold that someone put on her mind eyes just to see a dead person whom he/she loved once again. She did the same but eventually she realized that there is nothing like real in this. Yes, for the starter anyone can feel like an escape from the stabbing pain but to end that pain in real manner, you have to pass through it once and for all. And that’s the best thing to do.

What will you do in such a situation? Will you prefer to use any such service or will you prefer pass through this heartbroken phase once and for all?

Now coming towards the Replika a text based AI. I find this concept very interesting and when I gone through the reviews people have given about it online, I felt that this might be accepted as an online therapist. Because sometimes, we all pass through the time phase where all we want to have is a listener, who can listen to us without judging us. With whom we can talk about the stuff which we fear to share with our close friends or even with our blood relations. We do not want them to know about our dark spots and I think this is the only reason why a person searches for a person or for an app like Replika to talk to. So, in my opinion Replika is doing great for people and I personally believe that a person should have to try everything which can bring mental peace to him.

 What do you think about it? Will you use an app like Replika for the sake of metal peace?

For this week’s news article, I have found this article which explained well that why people use Replika. What was the reason it was first built?

Link: https://www.wired.com/story/replika-open-source/