Would you like a capybara to assist you in achieving your affirmation goals? Consider this: “Imagine yourself as a capybara soaking in a warm spring, allowing stress to gently drift away.” With the help of AI, are you moving towards a meaningful purpose? If it’s an artwork of an angelic capybara donning round glasses and a Hollywood-style hairdo, I’ll take notice.

Are you intrigued? That’s Capybara Affirmations AI for you. Why, you might ask? Well, when was the last time an AI tool brought a glimmer of joy into your life, aside from flashy presentations and long threads on X?

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@twizzles7 this is amazing! https://t.co/5sJ5YgSNT6 pic.twitter.com/S5NguHuixl

— Krithika Bollamma (@Keebo93) July 15, 2024

I’ve used my fair share of AI tools over the past couple of years. One of them allows you to create a digital companion, and users are so enamored that they are even getting these AI girlfriends pregnant, virtually and for a fee. It’s horrifying, but what truly concerns me is that the digital ecosystem is now flooded with get-rich-quick products that focus solely on problem-solving rather than bringing joy. This wasn’t always the case.

At one point, the world of digital tools was delightfully strange. A fart app for the iPhone was once making $10,000 a day. The iBeer app raked in double that amount for the struggling magician behind it. The Yo app, which simply let you send a “Yo” to friends, brought in millions. Mundane, mindless, yet joyous and pure.

Then came the era of web3 and NFTs, and digital snake oil was everywhere. Soon after the crypto industry burned, we got AI. Everybody is selling AI wrappers in 2024. AI is the current con game. It’s heating up the Earth, gobbling up billions, sucking up the energy grid, and delivering dreadful hardware like the Rabbit R1.

Capybara loves you, Mithila https://t.co/she4XULPLc pic.twitter.com/s6nhobZ1eJ

— Capybara Affirmations AI (@capybaraffirmai) July 15, 2024

Above all, it’s not providing us with playful things. Even thoughtful apps like Pi are promoted as a psychological support system in a rather serious manner. It’s no wonder that when I came across a social media post that combined mental health, AI, and a multi-modal capybara, I was excited. The app does exactly what its name implies — Capybara Affirmations AI. At its simplest, it asks for your name, allows you to choose from a list of moods, and then creates a capybara poster with the right self-affirmation to lift you. Here are some rodent-heavy specimens shared by the tool’s creator, Tanya Van Gastel.

Tanya Van Gastel

Look, I’m not saying this fun AI project is going to overshadow those productivity-focused, healing-first affirmation tools with glowing reviews on the App Store. Capybara Affirmations AI isn’t aiming to do that either. It’s just a fun take on mental health with the help of OpenAI’s GPT-4 model for conversations and Dall-E for generating those fantastic posters. Of course, it was also trained on a lot of capybara pictures. “It’s AI for positivity. I can’t think of a better use case,” Van Gastel tells Digital Trends. But why capybaras? “Why not?” she asks. I didn’t press her further about her preference for a certain hairy rodent in the animal kingdom. I certainly can’t envision a roaring lion or a steroid-charged bull for affirmation posters, so I guess this works just fine.

Tanya Van Gastel
Tanya Van Gastel

Before you delve into all that the web client offers right now, be aware that it’s not just a fun project made for the sake of it. The concept of affirmations has been scientifically validated. It’s about creating a world with more positivity, more affirmations, and more capybaras. A paper published in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal details how self-affirmations increase neural activities corresponding to valuation and self-processing zones in the brain. In a nutshell, self-affirmations are directly linked to neural antics. So, go ahead and hype yourself up and achieve your goals. Affirmations are known to reduce stress, enhance well-being, and aid in self-integrity and personal competence as well. Claude M. Steel, a Stanford alum and social psychologist credited with the theory of self-affirmation, notes that people are motivated to view themselves as competent and morally good. When these values are reinforced through self-assertion, they can lead to practical actions.

Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

If all that sounds boring, perhaps give Van Gastel’s work a try and let a capybara do some of the morale-boosting for you. “It’s a well-being project designed to relieve stress,” says the entrepreneur, whose other AI project, Multiverse AI, has clients like Google, Deloitte, and McKinsey. In addition to creating self-affirmation posters, there’s also a Capybara Chat where you can receive a wealth of mental health and wellness wisdom in the typical capybara literature. It’s quite verbose and a breath of fresh air. And there’s a community board as well.

Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

“You select what affirmation you want it for, and then you get a customized image of a capybara with a positive affirmation text tailored to your anxiety. It’s a Capybara Affirmation,” Van Gasten adds. There are paid tiers once you’ve used up your monthly quota of 15 affirmations. $5 doubles that number, while $10 gives you unlimited access. Should you pay for a capybara self-affirmation assistant? Well, people have paid for a fart app. Some even fork out money to get pictures of a pregnant virtual partner. If it helps, and for a cause as important as your mental wellness and life goals, why not?

In a world filled with AI hype shows and superintelligence vaporware, here’s something that has been clinically validated and offers real human benefits – with a side of a cute animal creating cool posters for you. Van Gasten isn’t oblivious to the trend either. “AI is always about taking over jobs or ending the world. It’s always negative. I want a counterbalance to all the negativity surrounding AI,” she tells Digital Trends. “AI can be good, so let’s create applications that let that shine. AI for good. AI for affirmations. AI for capybaras!”

Capybara Affirmations AI is currently available as a web tool. If you prefer apps, Van Gasten tells us that Android and iOS platforms will soon host an application that will also send notifications for your daily affirmations. Along with a few happy capybaras, of course.

Images:

Tanya Van Gastel

Tanya Van Gastel

Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends