At 17 years old, Savir Singh, a student at Garth Webb Secondary School in Oakville, has developed an app that uses artificial intelligence to help people craft thoughtful responses to emails and messages.
The app, Clonio AI, launched in May 2024, gathering approximately 5,000 users, Singh says.
The idea for Clonio AI came to be during a lunch break at school, the Oakville teen says. Singh, overwhelmed by tests at the time, received an email from a guidance counsellor. Unsure of how to respond respectfully and politely, he said out loud, "What if AI could do this for me?"
That moment inspired him to turn his idea into reality, he says.
Singh programmed the app himself, using his knowledge of existing AI models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. He fine tuned the programs and incorporated a third-party model that analyzes the average mood or sentiment in messages. Users can input past conversations and message history to determine the best way to initiate or respond in an online conversation.
Unlike ChatGPT and Google Gemini however, Singh says Clonio AI stands out in the way it's tailored for specific interpersonal interactions, such as reconnecting with someone, asking for a promotion at work, or finding out what someone might want for their birthday without asking directly. It also tracks the punctuation, grammar, mood and vocabulary of the previous messages inputted to provide more accurate responses and predictions.
"[Users] could get a feel for what they might say, based on their past conversation history," he said. "They could know how they might react in a situation and how they should word their message or email to optimize their results."
Singh initially offered the app for free online, promoting it on platforms like Reddit. In August 2024, Singh launched a paid version on the iOS App Store for $2.00, which saw 200 downloads in its first week.
He plans to use the proceeds to fund further features, like adding better LLMs (large language models), and integrating Clonio with social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Discord to allow users to upload conversations directly.
Singh also plans to launch Clonio AI for Android users, with a projected timeline for February 2025.
Despite the growing popularity of AI tools, Singh remains cautious about its role in society. "I think AI is really helpful and would be a really good tool to help you with your work," he said.
"But I don't think it could replace humans in general. We have our own problem-solving approaches and our own consciousness that we use to approach problems. I think AI can't replicate that but it could aid in the process of solving problems."
Singh likened AI to a calculator. "A calculator helps you calculate things but it doesn't actually replace humans."