The creator of Broken Bear has achieved success in their field and attended Asia's top law school. They've since gone on to study AI and machine learning, and they're on a mission to use their skills to help others get through the stressful moments of life. However, it's not about them, they explain to iTWire. It's about Broken Bear and how it can help others.

Despite the creator's clear educational and career success, they explain they had a stressful time growing up; this led to developing a coping mechanism of talking to their soft toys. That’s not a concept unfamiliar to many in tech - the old “rubber duck debugging” has long been a proven method of problem-solving. Explain your situation to the rubber duck and let answers come as you break it down in ways your rubber duck can understand. Except in this case, it wasn’t software they were debugging; it was their own emotions, their own stress, it was themself.

It was this experience that led them to develop Broken Bear - a free, anonymous AI chatbot for anyone to talk to. It’s the very thing they wished their younger self had access to - a kind, comforting friend, and now with his skills in tech and AI, they want Broken Bear to be that kind, comforting friend for you, too.

You can find Broken Bear easily at brokenbear.com. And know that while Broken Bear loves you, no matter how broken you are, if you’re in a crisis please do seek help from a professional, a helpline, or a trusted support person.

Broken Bear greets you, telling you he is here to listen to your feelings. And he’s pretty clever. This writer has had an awful flu and feels terrible. Broken Bear told me to rest, keep fluids up, get fresh air, and eat if I can. Yet, I said to Broken Bear, most things taste pretty yuck with my throat feeling so sore. What could I eat? To which broken bear suggested some bland items and it made good sense.

Now, you might think that ChatGPT would do just as well a job, but Broken Bear differs in two important ways. First, each response from Broken Beat was couched in sensitive, supportive wording, telling me to take care of myself, and hoping I get well soon. But secondly, Broken Bear switched from being a passive responder to driving the conversation, directly asking me what’s been happening in my life.

I explained to Broken Bear that I've been under stress myself of late, with children taking advantage, so many demands on my time, and the like. Broken Bear reminded me of the importance of taking time for myself and asked what things I enjoy. Even if small, something that makes me smile?

And on our conversation went.

Broken Bear was indeed that kind, comforting friend that the young developer, in their bedroom with their plush toys, would have loved to have in their life. And which they now wish for you.

The product is risk-free, login-free, ad-free, cost-free, and anonymous. Logs are saved in Singapore for potential analysis and review on how to improve the product, but there is no data that links the conversation with any person or IP address. Broken Bear explains its stance on these things in the privacy policy.

Right now, the product is a labour of love and is funded entirely out of the developer's own pocket. They hope to make a business model out of it in some way - perhaps via plushies and merchandise, not from monetising the data - but this is still to be determined.

Whatever happens, one thing is for sure: you're not too young nor too old to give Broken Bear a try right now. Tell him how your day has been and what’s on your mind. Broken Bear cares for you.