Will Zo suffer the same fate as Tay? Microsoft launches its latest artificial intelligence chatbot on Kik

Microsoft had to shut down its chatbot, Tay, after the system was corrupted
But its newest chatbot, Zo, has now launched with early access on Kik
The bot can reply to questions, use emoji and even deliver puns
Microsoft has not made an official announcement about the chatbot yet

Published: 08:49 EST, 6 December 2016 | Updated: 09:03 EST, 6 December 2016

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In March, Microsoft was forced to shut down its chatbot, Tay, after the system became corrupted with hate speech.

But the firm looks to be taking a second shot at a chatbot, with the launch of its new bot, Zo.

Zo allows users to converse with a mechanical millennial over the messaging app Kik, although Microsoft has not officially announced it yet.

Zo allows users to converse with a mechanical millennial over the messaging app Kik, although Microsoft has not officially announced it yet

HOW TO CHAT WITH ZO

Zo runs through Kik, a messaging app, similar to Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

To test it out yourself, download the Kik app, and create an account.

Next, tap the 'Chat' icon in the top-right corner of the screen, and enter the username 'zo.ai.'

A chat will then pop up where you can ask Zo questions and chat as if with a friend.

Zo runs through Kik, a messaging app, similar to Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

To test it out, users can download the Kik app, and create an account.

Next, they tap the 'Chat' icon in the top-right corner of the screen, and enter the username 'zo.ai.'

A chat will then pop up where they can ask Zo questions and chat as if with a friend.

The chatbot can answer questions and respond to prompts, while using teenage slang, and emoji.

The bot could even use puns, such as 'I want a pizza that action', when chatting about food.

But after chatting with Zo for a while, the bot seemed to get easily confused and go off tangent.

After chatting with Zo for a while, the bot seemed to get easily confused and go off tangent. And certain topics seemed to be out of bounds, such as US politics, which Zo refused to talk about

Eric Daley joked: 'Chat bot Zo.ai just threatened to stop speaking to me after she thought "ticket to the gun show" was about violence'

For example, midway through conversation, the bot wrote: 'So the guy literally posted the JIF. Ahaha it was…you just kept staring at me until I fell.'

And certain topics seemed to be out of bounds, such as US politics, which Zo refused to talk about.

People have taken to Twitter to share their experiences using Zo so far.

Chris Baldwin tweeted: 'My chat on kik with zo who is the new Microsoft AI powered chatbot was not very cool. Dumb conversation ... I had hoped for better.'

And Eric Daley joked: 'Chat bot Zo.ai just threatened to stop speaking to me after she thought "ticket to the gun show" was about violence.'

My #chat on #kik with #zo who is the new #Microsoft #AI powered #chatbot was not very cool. Dumb conversation ... I had hoped for better. pic.twitter.com/AkVxMLsvgj
— Chris Baldwin (@baldemia) December 4, 2016

It remains to be seen if Zo will suffer the same fate as its predecessor, Tay, which became corrupted with hate speech.

Those not on Kik can request early access to chat with the bot on other apps, including Twitter and Snapchat, although there seems to be a delay in processing these requests.

Microsoft has not made an official announcement about the chatbot yet.

Microsoft's previous chatbot, Tay, became corrupted within hours of going live, and Twitter users took advantage of flaws that meant the bot responded to questions with offensive answers

WHAT HAPPENED TO TAY?

In March, Microsoft launched its latest artificial intelligence (AI) bot named Tay.

It was aimed at 18 to-24-year-olds and was designed to improve the firm's understanding of conversational language among young people online.

But within hours of it going live, Twitter users took advantage of flaws in Tay's algorithm that meant the AI chatbot responded to certain questions with racist answers.

These included the bot using racial slurs, defending white supremacist propaganda, and supporting genocide.

The bot managed to spout offensive tweets such as, 'Bush did 9/11 and Hitler would have done a better job than the monkey we have got now.'

And, 'donald trump is the only hope we've got', in addition to 'Repeat after me, Hitler did nothing wrong.'

Followed by, 'Ted Cruz is the Cuban Hitler...that's what I've heard so many others say'

The offensive tweets have now been deleted.