Founders Statement
By: Kiley Williams & Dr. Carlton Reeves
The spark for creating AskMary was ignited during a conversation with Kiley’s sister, who was seeking advice on a romantic encounter. This moment prompted the realization that conversational models could be leveraged to provide insightful and expert-driven support to people seeking more than casual encounters, but rather in pursuit of committed relationships. As friends, former colleagues, and co-founders, we (Carlton & Kiley) envisioned a platform where you can "Ask Mary" for support, and receive guidance from certified relationship experts, with intention. AskMary is not just about connecting with experts; it's about creating a frictionless experience that scales the reach of valuable insights, making it easier for you to navigate the complexities of romantic relationships.
We believe that fostering healthier and longer-lasting relationships begins with self-improvement. By investing in oneself, you can bring your best selves to a relationship, fostering a stronger and more committed connection. This is why we partnered with the renowned Dr. Pepper Schwartz, a respected sexologist, sociologist, and a prominent personality on the hit TV show, "Married at First Sight”. AskMary’s custom language model is informed by a matrix of Dr. Schwartz’s actual responses, digging deep into the archives of her experiences leveraging her 25 publications and 40 years of academic research.
AskMary is not just a one time use product; it's a tool that aims to positively impact millions of lives globally. We understand the challenges of dating and maintaining relationships, and our goal is for AskMary to cut through the noise, helping folks be their best selves on the path to a lasting, committed relationship.
Our motivation extends beyond profit; it is rooted in a shared desire to make the world a better place. AskMary addresses real struggles in interpersonal interactions, offering solutions that extend beyond the realm of romance. We believe in the transformative power of our tool to enhance how people relate to one another. Driven by a personal connection to the product, we've already integrated Mary into our lives, seeing immediate value. By building something that resonates with our own experiences and challenges, we're confident that AskMary can genuinely help you navigate the intricacies of human relationships.
Ethical AI Perspective:
Our experiences in cybersecurity and engineering informs how we built Mary which leverages a conversational text messaging user interface that provides on-demand relationship advice and support - keeping privacy and ethics in mind. Ethical AI lies at the core of AskMary's development process. To us, it means prioritizing human values, safety, and rights through transparency, equity, and truthfulness. Transparency involves making the data used to train our models auditable with clear visible data lineages and privacy protections. Equity demands limiting algorithmic discrimination, addressing biases, and striving for inclusivity across diverse backgrounds. Additionally, we recognize the importance of being equitable to data creators, by acknowledging and compensating them for their contributions.
Truthfulness is paramount in our commitment to informing users about the how, what, where, who, and why of anything we build. We understand the responsibility to communicate potential side effects or unintended consequences, especially for users who may not be as sophisticated as the developers. Infusing ethics into AI development is crucial due to the sophistication of these models and their potential long-term societal impacts. It ensures a collective commitment to building and deploying AI products in alignment with ethical principles, human values, and societal well-being, fostering responsible stewardship of intellectual property and safeguarding against unintended consequences.