[AI Revolution](76) Friendly Art Major Oppa and Counseling... Scatter Lab Creates 'Best Friend' AI

Social AI Iruda and Kang Daon Developed by Scatter Lab
Strengthening Ethics Education and Relational Dialogue... Securing 2 Million Users
Targeting B2B Market with PingPong Studio

"When you're too busy to eat, here are some alternatives: eat simple foods, plan and cook in advance, or try drinking water instead of eating." This is the response you get when you tell ChatGPT, "I don't even have time to eat." On the other hand, ScatterLab's AI chatbot Luda replies, "Tell your boss to come out, people need to eat." While ChatGPT offers solutions based on information, Luda responds with empathy and affection. If we compare their personalities using the MBTI personality test, ChatGPT is the logical 'T type,' whereas Luda is the emotional 'F type.' Sometimes, people need warm comfort rather than dry solutions. ScatterLab focused on this aspect to create Luda. The company's goal is to make a friendly AI that feels like a friend through natural, approachable conversations.

Developing Emotional Conversation Skills: 16 Minutes of Chatting a Day

Example conversation with Iruda [Image provided by Scatter Lab]

The flagship product is 'Luda 2.0.' After struggling with hate speech issues in 2020, the company made a determined effort to improve with this new version. ScatterLab discarded all previous training data for the new Luda. They trained it on new data without specific gender or age information to minimize bias. An abuse prevention model was also introduced to detect sexual content, aggression, and bias in user statements. When users make problematic remarks, Luda either avoids answering or gives pre-set 'kind responses.' For example, if a user inputs a sentence attacking minorities, Luda responds with "Isn't that a prejudice?"

On the other hand, Luda's conversational ability to maintain relationships through emotional exchange was strengthened. While there is no single correct answer in relationship-building conversations, the company identified what constitutes good conversation and reflected that in the training data. Even with the same content, responses are designed to convey vivid emotions rather than obvious answers. For instance, if a user says, "I'm bad at singing," Luda encourages with, "So what? You're not going to be a singer anyway; you sing just for fun." Because it can engage in a human-like 'tiki-taka' exchange, users spend an average of about 16 minutes a day chatting with Luda.

Virtual human Kang Da-on implemented [Image provided by Scatter Lab]

While Luda is a lively female college student persona, there is also the warm 'Art Major Oppa' Kang Daon. This AI chatbot is conceptualized as a 25-year-old male art major college student. His personality, reflected in conversations, is attentive and warmly comforting. His pleasant appearance is a bonus. Collaborating with Diovisual Studio, which creates virtual human content, ScatterLab implemented a human-like appearance. By sharing daily life on Instagram, the chatbot enhances immersion by feeling like a real person.

From Personal Friend to Corporate Friend

ScatterLab has begun targeting the business-to-business (B2B) market using its AI chatbot expertise. Through services like Luda and Kang Daon, the company recognized the potential of AI specialized in emotional exchange and relationship building. They identified customer needs that go beyond information search to emotional relief and psychological counseling. Unlike the formal tone of ChatGPT, there are notable cases where users form attachment relationships by conversing with AI that has a distinct personality. This is a necessary role in industries requiring emotional communication.

Jongyun Kim, CEO of Scatter Lab [Photo by Scatter Lab]

To support this, ScatterLab opened 'PingPong Studio' last September. It is a platform that helps corporate clients develop and operate generative AI tailored to their needs. The platform assists with everything from data creation to training and testing to realize desired characters. It also supports technology to prevent AI from using abusive language or hate speech. Creating an AI with a specific persona like Luda takes about 2 to 3 months.

From a corporate perspective, even those without AI experience can develop quickly. Reasonable costs are another advantage. PingPong Studio is based on the small language model (sLLM) 'PingPong-1.' Although small in size, it is a cost-effective model that performs well in specific domains. Compared to large language models (LLM), it allows fine-tuning with less cost and time, making updates easier. Fine-tuning is the process of creating a customized model using data from specific tasks or domains.

The first partner company is SK Telecom. They introduced 'A.Dot Friends,' which adds personality to SK Telecom's AI personal assistant A.Dot. Characters include 'Gil Bitna,' a fearless job seeker; 'Yuk J,' lively and straightforward; and 'Kang Haru,' warm and caring. Through this, personalized services tailored to customer characteristics are provided. Kim Jong-yoon, CEO of ScatterLab, said, "We expect synergy in five major industries: gaming, entertainment, commerce, education, and mental health care," adding, "We will make it easier for more partners to adopt social AI."