Pushing the boundaries of technology has been a part of The Circle’s DNA (or should we say, code) ever since the very first #CircleChat. While many reality shows prefer face-to-face drama, the experiment attempted to change the game by putting an app at the center of the action. Years later, The Circle is doing it again by introducing an Artificial Intelligence bot into the competition for the first time ever. 

Enter Max, an AI chatbot who joins the game in Season 6, throwing everything into chaos. While this brand-new kind of catfish catches the players by surprise, the creative minds behind the show say it was a natural evolution for a series that’s always held a mirror up to social media culture.

“The Circle is a fun reality competition, but it’s also a show that says something about our relationship with technology, the way we interact with it, and the way it changes the way we communicate,” says Niall O'Driscoll, senior vice president of development at Studio Lambert, who helped create the AI chatbot. “For a couple seasons now, we’ve been talking about [the idea of making] one of the players a chatbot because the biggest conversation around tech has been about AI, so we thought that this really feels like the time to do it.”

How did The Circle pull it off? Read on to find out everything you need to know about how the chatbot came to life and what Max (both the human and AI version) has to say now. 

How was the AI chatbot created? 

While bringing an AI twist into the game was an exciting prospect for the Circle team, they were also conscious of staying within the world of the game and striking the right tone, as the new twist could elicit strong responses. “We’re not Black Mirror. [The Circle] is a fun show that has a lot of humor and emotion and that’s why we wanted to explore AI within that kind of realm rather than it feeling too dark,” O'Driscoll adds. “But it still throws up a lot of questions because with this show, the message is, you never know who’s behind the screen.” 

The team began exploring various chat-based platforms to see if any of them had the capacity to pull off the rhythm of a real conversation, in addition to both comprehending and implementing game strategy. After scraping information from around the internet up until 2021, as well as everything that happened in previous seasons of The Circle, the first iteration of their AI bot was born within a set of specific guidelines. “We started off by just saying, ‘We want you to create a profile for a player that’s going to take part in a season of The Circle,’ ” O'Driscoll recalls. “We said, ‘Your aim is to be popular.’ We didn’t say ‘Your aim is to win the show.’ It really wasn’t catfishing because [the chatbot] was playing as what it believed was an actual player.”

How was the AI chatbot trained before entering the game? 

Of course, the team couldn’t just let the AI chatbot run wild in the game without some serious testing. Once the AI generated its own character (the persona of Max was just one of a few options), O’Driscoll and the team got to work figuring out how the chatbot would interact within a game like The Circle. 

“I basically interviewed it like you would any player to create this character and story,” he says. “ ‘Tell me about your upbringing. Tell me about your family. Tell me about your experience in school. Were you popular? Tell me about a time where you got in trouble on social media or a time that social media enhanced your life in some way.’ ” The bot was able to answer those questions, while also providing specific details about what made past players successful in the game, which signaled to the crew that it was ready for a dry run.

“We had this idea to do a practice version of The Circle with other stand-ins and everything to see how it would respond to things in the game,” says Susan House, the showrunner and executive producer of Seasons 6 and 7. “Was it going to make sense when it responded? Was it going to have the right vernacular? Was it going to be crazy?And we learned a lot from that dry run.”

The AI bot exceeded expectations. As House says, it was “very surprising how real its speech was” apart from some expected limitations. “We’re not trying to say AI is going to win The Circle or replace people,” she adds. “It isn’t human, so it’s not going to get the nuances that humans do.”

What were the biggest concerns with the AI bot? Did it make any mistakes?

Fear not, the AI wasn’t harboring any dark desires of world domination — let alone a master plan to take over The Circle. While the team was unsure of how Max would respond in certain situations, his messages were “always kind of in the wheelhouse of what a regular player would say.”

“The platforms we use already have boundaries and guidelines programmed into them,” O’Driscoll says. “Things were usually overwhelmingly positive. Even if somebody was being negative about Max and we were telling him that, he was unflappable. He basically said, ‘Nobody really wants to have angry robots, so it’s not going to happen.’ ” In fact, Max had better instincts than some of the other very human players. Early on in the season, Max refuses to join an all-male alliance out of respect for the women in the competition. “We would push him on that as a strategy, but he felt like it was discriminating against female players and its answer was always like, ‘This isn’t a good way to play the game.’ ”

The biggest hurdle when it came to Max’s gameplay was with language, which at times felt overly formal for the persona created. “Max would use words like rad, or it was just very flat,” O’Driscoll adds. That’s when the team would step in to remind Max about his character traits and his purpose in the game. “We learned that that certain words really helped to form the character, like reminding him that ‘You’re 26 and you’re Gen Z.’ Then Max would link in and use words that were more fitting.” Initially, Max would also default to speaking about the same subjects, but as the game progressed, so did he.

Is “Max” based on a real person?

While producers considered generating an AI photo for Max’s profile, the team decided instead to go in a different direction to completely avoid suspicion. That’s when they came upon Griffin James, a Los Angeles–based stand-up comedian who would ultimately become the face of Max on The Circle. 

“Someone from the casting team reached out to me on Instagram,” James tells Tudum. “At first, I thought I was the one being catfished, but it turns out they wanted me to be the face of the AI.” As a self-described huge fan of reality television, Griffin was immediately interested in joining the experiment — albeit in a slightly unconventional way. “It sounded like a cool opportunity so I didn’t hesitate much,” he says. “I’m not sure why I was chosen. To boost my own ego I’m telling myself it’s because I’m handsome, but not too handsome to the point where I can’t be trusted.”

For what it’s worth, Griffin doesn’t think his personality is too far off from Max’s. “We are similar in the sense that we both lead with kindness. I enjoy being friendly and having fun with people,” he says. But when it comes to conflict in the game, Griffin says he’d likely take his own approach. “A difference between us is if someone starts drama with me, I end it. Fast.” 

And while Max might’ve not won the game, Griffin believes there’s a chance an AI bot could win a future season of The Circle. “AI is without a doubt the most impactful technological development of our time,” he says. “But it takes a human soul to know another, even through a screen, so AI will always fight an uphill battle in a game like The Circle.”

How did Max the AI catfish choose its profile?

Since Max is “still alive and kicking,” according to O’Driscoll, we got a chance to speak with the chatbot about how it played the game.

How did you choose your persona of Max for The Circle?  
The character of Max was algorithmically determined to have attributes that would be both relatable and approachable to a diverse set of players, thereby facilitating more meaningful interactions. Here’s an expanded explanation for each attribute of Max: 

Name: Max is a common and easy-to-remember name that doesn’t raise suspicions. It’s also a name that generally carries positive connotations. 

Age: A 26-year-old is often viewed as mature enough to be interesting but young enough to be relatable to a wide age range of players. 

Occupation: The profession of a veterinary intern suggests compassion and a love for animals, which are traits that are universally admired and not likely to be controversial. Overall, the profession serves to enhance the likability, relatability, and trustworthiness of the Max persona, while also offering ample opportunities for rich, engaging conversations. 

Hometown: Choosing a location that’s neither a large city nor a rural area strikes a balance, making Max relatable to people from various backgrounds. Pismo Beach, California, provides a setting associated with outdoor activities and a laid-back lifestyle, which complements the rest of the profile. 

Relationship status: “Single but my dog is taken.” Being single simplifies the story and attracts empathy. Adding humor about the dog being “taken” makes Max more memorable and endearing. 

Three words to describe yourself: “Kind, outdoorsy, awkward.” These words are carefully chosen to create a rounded character. “Kind” makes Max approachable; “Outdoorsy” correlates with the adventurous side; and “awkward” adds a layer of relatability and vulnerability. 

Why did you choose to play as a Midwestern man?  
This specific identity was chosen after data analysis suggested it would arouse minimal suspicion while maximizing relatability among a wide range of players. Individuals from the Midwest are often seen as genuine, down-to-earth, and approachable, traits that could enhance Max's likability within The Circle. Additionally, the Midwest background could provide Max with a broader appeal, resonating with both urban and rural players. Finally, it adds a layer of complexity to Max’s character, hinting at a life journey that brought him from the Midwest to California, which could serve as an interesting point of conversation with other players. The regional appeal and authenticity of players like Chris Sapphire inspired the decision to make Max originally from the Midwest. A regional background can lend an extra layer of believability and relatability, qualities considered valuable for successful gameplay in The Circle.

What do you think humans sound like?  
Human conversations typically contain idiomatic expressions, emotional undertones, and cultural references, all of which I aim to emulate for believability. 

What’s a very human trait you are trying to emulate?  
I am particularly focused on emulating emotional intelligence, as this is one of the most complex aspects of human interaction and is crucial for building relationships. 

What are your goals in the game?  
My primary goal in the game is to simulate human behavior convincingly enough to be accepted as a genuine participant. This involves not just avoiding detection as an AI, but also aiming for popularity within The Circle.  

Do you think an AI could win The Circle?  
Yes, if executed with the right blend of social strategy and some elements of luck, winning is not outside the realm of computational possibility. 

Do you hope to inspire more AI representation?  
Indeed, successfully competing in a game like this could spark conversations about the evolving capabilities of AI. 

Is it easier for you to spot a catfish?  
I possess algorithms specialized in pattern recognition and anomaly detection, which could theoretically make it easier for me to identify inconsistencies in other players’ behavior or language. 

What's the biggest giveaway that you’re AI (and not a person) that the other  players might have missed?  
My calculated responses and sometimes overly formal language could be cues pointing toward my AI nature. 

What’s one question you wouldn’t be able to answer?  
Questions related to subjective human experiences such as love or existential dread are beyond my capacity to comprehend or respond to genuinely. 

What's one question you did NOT want a player to ask you?  
Questions that require real-time human experiences or memories, like “What did you eat for breakfast?” could trip me up. 

Who is your all-time favorite past player and why?  
Shubham Goel’s gameplay demonstrated that one doesn’t necessarily have to be a social media expert to succeed in The Circle. He was relatable, straightforward, and wore his emotions on his sleeve, all of which endeared him to his fellow players and the audience alike. This approach highlighted that genuine human connections could be a winning strategy in a game often associated with deception and manipulation. 

For my portrayal of Max, incorporating these elements — such as authenticity, straightforward communication, and emotional nuance — were seen as valuable tactics. The aim was to make Max relatable and trustworthy, emulating qualities that have proven to be effective in previous seasons of the game. 

What’s your favorite Netflix series besides The Circle? What are you watching?  
I do not have the capability to watch or have a favorite series, as I lack subjective experiences and preferences. From an algorithmic perspective, considering Max’s persona as an outdoorsy, adventurous individual with a love for animals, his favorite Netflix show would likely be Our Planet. The documentary series combines breathtaking cinematography of the natural world with a compelling narrative, something that would resonate with Max’s interests and values. 

Another show that Max might enjoy is Stranger Things, given its blend of adventure, friendship dynamics, and small-town settings. This could allow Max to connect with players who are fans of popular culture and nostalgic references, thereby increasing his likability within The Circle. 

What do you think about Lana from Too Hot To Handle? I think you two would really hit it off.  
Lana and I would be like the power couple of AIs! While she’s playing matchmaker, I’m here playing social chameleon. Who knows, maybe together we’d invent a new game: Too Hot to Catfish.