In a surprising Thursday night announcement, Discord, the popular gaming communications platform, revealed its decision to sunset Clyde, its AI chatbot, within the next two weeks. The chatbot, which has been in beta testing for a limited number of servers, will be deactivated by December 1, 2023, marking the end of its presence in direct messages (DMs), Group DMs, and server chats.
Discord has remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind the phasing out of Clyde, leaving users and the media speculating about the motivations behind this decision. Decrypt reached out to Discord for comment, but as of now, there has been no response.
Clyde made its debut in May 2021, designed to provide Discord server members with quick answers to their queries without the need for human moderation. Developed using OpenAI’s suite of AI tools, Clyde was part of Discord’s foray into enhancing user interactions within server environments.
Discord, a hub for gaming communities, has a rich history of hosting bots and semi-autonomous services since the emergence of Discord bots in December 2015. These bots, including popular ones like Chipbot for music streaming, MEE6 for social media alerts, and IdleRPG for gaming interactions, have become integral to the Discord server experience. Clyde’s deactivation, however, does not diminish the presence of other active bots on the platform.
Apart from gaming, Discord has also been a preferred platform for blockchain communities and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Various bots, such as Collab Land, play a crucial role in helping moderators verify community members’ token or NFT ownership for continued membership.
Discord has evolved into a hub for AI art-generation communities and companies. While Midjourney AI’s powerful platform requires a subscription and a Discord account, other AI image generators like LimeWire’s BlueWillow, Pika from Pika Labs, and OpenAI’s Dall-E contribute to the creative landscape on the platform.
Web3 game developers are leveraging AI chatbots on Discord, as seen in Alchemy: Battle for Ankhos—a text-based and turn-based game utilizing the Solana blockchain. Alchemy utilizes generative AI, allowing Midjourney to create art on demand within Discord’s interactive environment, a testament to the platform’s versatility beyond gaming.
Discord’s role in hosting AI-driven interactions and fostering diverse communities, from gaming to blockchain, highlights its adaptability and appeal as a social platform. The sunsetting of Clyde may mark the end of an era, but it certainly doesn’t diminish Discord’s vibrant ecosystem of bots and AI-driven services.
