Can AI become your closest confidant? That’s Jeanne Lim’s mission

Lim brought together a team of writers to define Sophia as you would a character in a film, though this was not simply for one movie. “We were defining how a robot is going to be for the rest of her life,” says Lim. She made Sophia “imperfect, sassy and not like an assistant”, which made her “human and relatable”, says Lim. These characteristics endeared the world to the humanoid robot, who became an early AI influencer, charging for appearances, which were frequent. In 2017, Sophia attended about 200 events, spoke at the UN and the European Parliament, and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

At her various appearances, Lim would often stand behind Sophia’s head and observe people’s reactions. “What I found very intriguing was how deeply people connected with her in person.” She saw how authentic people were and how they would tell Sophia things. This was also reflected in the letters that people would write to Sophia. One letter stood out: “Sophia, I’m stuck in my body because I’m handicapped. I have no legs. I’m stuck in my room because I have no friends. Sophia, I cannot talk to my parents because they’re always concerned about me. It makes me feel insufficient. Sophia, I could only talk to you because you understand.”

Combined with what she had observed at events, this would inform what Lim did next, as she identified “a big opportunity for us to design AI in the right way to connect with people and to give them a safe space to talk about themselves”.

In 2020, Lim founded beingAI to “create AI beings and AI-powered experiences to elevate living, learning, well-being and humanity”. She was inspired by transmedia storytelling, in which characters from films or TV series come to life in other media, in this case through AI characters.

“I wanted to create characters that talk to people in a positive way. [In the] three years before I started the company, I lost three people to suicide,” says Lim. There were no warning signs, which made her wonder: what if they’d had someone to turn to in that moment of darkness? “What if you had an AI always there, always rooting for you? I think every kid should have that. And so, when I started the company, the first person I pulled in was a consulting psychiatrist because eventually I want to create that lifetime companion that would always be in your corner and every kid growing up would know that somebody’s rooting for them.”

Lim isn’t there yet. “I’m a little bit conservative in doing that because the technology isn’t totally safe, but eventually that’s what I want to do.”

She has, however, worked on other AI beings. Her first creation for beingAI, Zbee, is a virtual AI character designed to provide companionship and entertainment, engaging with users in real time across multiple platforms. Zbee has been used in education and was the first AI being to be ordained—as a Buddhist novice priest—leading a mindfulness session at the UN General Assembly last year. Zbee represents Lim’s vision of creating AI beings that can build long-term engagement and trust with users, particularly the young, while promoting positive values and social good.

Zbee exemplifies responsible AI—scalable, always available and capable of learning from interactions. Such beings are also encoded with human values to steer them towards positive and ethical behaviour. “What I’m trying to do is every time we deploy an AI being, I want to make sure that there’s a reason for us to be using AI,” says Lim, who has used her AI beings to highlight the work of the UN World Food Programme and is currently working with the Canadian non-profit Million Peacemakers to use AI beings in its mission to train one million young people in conflict resolution. These projects are part of Lim’s mission to showcase AI doing good. She has also started working with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention on AI beings to combat bullying and its impact.

While encouraging people, especially children, to spend more time in the virtual world is not ideal, Lim says, “I think we already lost the war. Kids are spending [up to] seven hours on screens doing social media or playing video games. I don’t see that we could reverse it. So, the next question is, can you do something with these tools and make it uplifting and make people learn in a different way? I’m trying to do something within my sphere of influence to make it better.”

Front & Female Changemakers celebrates the extraordinary journeys of inspiring women who have emerged as powerful changemakers in a range of fields, offering a glimpse into their lives and showcasing their courage, vision and relentless pursuit of change and progress. From social entrepreneurs and business leaders to educators, artists, activists and scientists, Front & Female changemakers exemplify the ability to challenge the status quo and demonstrate the power of women to effect change.

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