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MasterClass Introduces AI Mentorship Through “On Call” App
MasterClass is taking a significant step forward by expanding its offerings to include real-time mentorship via artificial intelligence. The new initiative allows users to communicate with AI representations of some of the platform’s most popular instructors, marking a shift from traditional pre-recorded video lessons.
On Wednesday, MasterClass launched On Call, a web and iOS application that facilitates interactions with AI avatars of renowned instructors. Currently, the service features two prominent figures: Chris Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator, and Dr. Matt Walker, a neuroscientist from the University of California, Berkeley. MasterClass plans to introduce additional personalities in the future, with notable names like Gordon Ramsay, Mark Cuban, Bill Nye, and LeVar Burton anticipated to join.
David Rogier, CEO of MasterClass, emphasizes that this service transcends the conventional AI chatbots that merely aggregate information from the internet. In a statement made on social media, he explained, “This isn’t just another generic AI chatbot pulling data from the internet. We’ve built this with our experts — training the AI on proprietary data sets, including unpublished notes, private research, their lessons, emails, and insights they’ve never disclosed before.”
According to Inc., MasterClass has established agreements with each instructor featured in On Call to license their voice and expertise. However, feedback regarding the AI’s realism indicates there is room for improvement. Sample audio clips available on the MasterClass website suggest that the interaction might feel somewhat mechanical, particularly in the case of Chris Voss’s AI representation, which lacks a natural tone.
Additionally, On Call operates as a separate entity from MasterClass’s standard subscription service. To access this AI-driven mentorship platform, users are required to pay $10 monthly or $84 annually.
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www.engadget.com