Character.AI’s new Books mode turns reading into roleplay

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Why read classics when you can ‘play’ them? Why read classics when you can ‘play’ them? Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Mired in controversy and legal woes over concerns about its chatbots’ interactions with users, particularly teens, Character.AI seems to be playing it safer with a new “Books” mode. The new format lets users step inside familiar worlds for a more structured roleplaying experience, one the company hopes will broaden perceptions of what AI roleplay can be beyond romancing minors, encouraging violence, and promoting self-harm. In a blog post, Character.AI said Books is launching with a catalog of more than 20 classic public domain titles sourced from Project Gutenberg, including Alice in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice, Dracula, Frankenstein, Romeo and Juliet, and The Great Gatsby. “Every book lets you choose who you want to be,” the company said, allowin