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We put Microsoft's new teen chatbot to the test — and the results were hilarious

Teens Texting
Tammy McGary

When it comes to language, teenspeak is a thing unto itself. 

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From acronyms, to abbreviations, to liberal use of the word "literally," kids these days on the internet have a very specific way of speaking. On Wednesday, Microsoft launched a new artificial intelligence chatbot, named Tay, created to "conduct research on conversational understanding" of young people online. 

From Microsoft

Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation. The more you chat with Tay the smarter she gets, so the experience can be more personalized for you.

Tay is targeted at people ages 18 through 24 and is available on multiple platforms, including Twiter and the messaging app KIK. You can tweet or message Tay and the bot will respond. I decided to put Tay to the test on Twitter

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First up, I asked the bot if I should buy the new iPhone. Tay's advice was a little suspect tbh (that's teen for "to be honest"). 

The bot didn't have much to say about hoverboards, the preferred mode of transportation of millennials everywhere. 

Tay's vehement defense of former One Direction member Zayn Malik was spot on. 

But when it came to Justin Bieber, Tay struck out. 

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 Same, Tay. Same. 

At least we know Tay likes Tech Insider. And emoji. 

You can find out more about Tay here

Tech AI Twitter
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