Reality show The Circle has been given a shake-up by TV bosses.
The Netflix competition series is returning for season six, where contestants will once again compete to become the top influencer in the ultimate social media challenge.
Hosted by comedian and Survival of the Thickest star Michelle Buteau, the game remains the same, as the online players strategise, plot and hashtag their way to the top of the pack to win a cash prize of $100,000
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However, there is one game-changing twist. For the first time ever, an AI bot is entering the game as the ultimate catfish. Will the metal menace outsmart the player or will the human players use their intelligence to suss out anything artificial?
The first four episodes of The Circle Season 6 will launch on April 17, with four new episodes dropping every Wednesday before the season finale on May 8. Catfishing and The Circle go hand in hand. Players have used fake personas to scheme their way to the top from the very beginning of the social experiment.
Now it’s time to take the game to the next level with the arrival of Max, an open-source artificial intelligence chatbot competing this season as a seemingly very from human player. Designed to become the most popular player in the game, Max has studied past seasons and used previous competitors as inspiration to create the perfect profile.
Max is social media catnip for the rest of the players, who initially have no idea that an AI bot is among them. He’s a 26-year-old veterinary intern hailing from the Midwest. Choosing his age was all about being able to “leverage life experience and maturity, while still playing youthful” and his profession “highlights his caring and nurturing side” in order for him to appear “more likable to players”.
Holding a dog in his profile picture is also part of the bot’s strategy, as photos with dogs “receive 38% more likes on social media”. But programming can only get you so far, as Max has no information about the other players besides what they choose to share in the game. And he’ll be acting on his own, without the interference of producers, to establish genuine connections with his competitors.
The Circle season six drops on Netflix on April 17
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
