This week we have the delightful opportunity to chat with Rechat’s Senior Mobile Engineer Saeed Taheri, who dedicates most of his time creating new features for the Rechat app on iOS and iPadOS, as well as maintaining and modernizing the code for existing Rechat features. He also manages the Android team, ensuring that the requested features from Rechat members and the product team are delivered on time and with high quality.

“I started programming for iOS in 2011 when iOS 5 was around; to give you some context, we’re now on iOS 17,” he explained. “I delved into the world of Android development in 2017. Since then, I’ve been going back and forth between iOS and Android. However, I consider myself more of an iOS developer.”

He has a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering, but due to his long-lasting passion for computers, he switched tracks and started studying computer science, specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) for his master’s degree studies.

What brought you to Rechat and what intrigued you about your role/work here?

Saeed: I was referred by a friend who was a web developer to join the team and start creating an Android app for Rechat. At that time (about 3 years ago), Rechat was only available on the web and iOS. I developed the first version of Rechat for Android and later helped the team port Rechat to iPad as well.

What has been your role as it relates to the development/implementation of Lucy?

I created the Lucy client for iOS with the help of the team. Being present in the build-up meetings leading to Lucy’s presence on iOS, my suggestions played a role in choosing the features to make available on the platform. Lucy’s functionality is primarily server-side. The client’s role is to visualize that functionality and present the team’s efforts to the users.

Are you able to give us an update on the status of the Lucy project in terms of putting more features in the hands of agents and brokers? What should they expect?

The development of an AI agent never stops. Everyday, the team works to train and improve the machine learning models used to create websites, presentations, emails, etc. For the current version, we have a set of features available. However, as the team is improving the underlying models everyday, Lucy of tomorrow is definitely better of today’s Lucy. It understands users’ intentions better and provides much more relatable answers everyday. 

What have been some challenges that perhaps you weren’t expecting as you’ve been working on the Lucy/AI project?

Lucy offers a comprehensive experience of Rechat. Users can perform a variety of tasks within Lucy that would otherwise require navigating through numerous pages of the app. While Lucy may appear to be a simple chat bot, it actually showcases many of the features available in other parts of Rechat. Handling all these scenarios and presenting them in a user-friendly interface is an achievement that we’re proud of.

What is the most exciting part of working in AI for you personally?

Although the term AI has become popular in recent years, the science and technology behind it have been around for almost three decades. With OpenAI’s introduction of ChatGPT, many now refer to Generative Artificial Intelligence, which is just a small part of the broader concept, as AI. In reality, we have been using AI in our phones and computers for many years. For example, the software keyboard you’re using and the photo app that categorizes your memories both utilize AI. As someone who has studied AI academically to some extent, I am always amazed by the pace and progress of this technology. I constantly look for ways to delegate tedious tasks to computers, and generative AI has been incredibly helpful in the past few years.

Any final thoughts to share?

I’m thrilled to be a part of the AI era, both as a consumer and as someone who can simplify its use for the public. It’s undeniable that in the near future, and even now, human intelligence is being exponentially augmented by AI. Those who can leverage this augmentation will have more power. It’s a privilege to be a part of Lucy and Rechat’s team, contributing to this exciting development.