Case Study 3
Our relationships with technology are changing. As you have seen in the previous case studies, robotics are being utilized within our society to assist people, and to stimulate emotional responses and create feelings of well-being. They are being used to stimulate conversation and social interactions. But what about the future? What are the possibilities? How far can relationships with technology go and what will this mean to our sense of self, or sense of community, our social behaviour, and the quality of our relationships? The next case study is designed to stimulate debate about what the future may hold, and what our thoughts are about that.
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In the not too distant future an Operating System (OS) is developed that has an intuitive personality, it listens to you, understands you, knows you. It has a unique personality. It can read books instantaneously and form opinions, it can sense your tone of voice, when you are being hesitant, and can engage in conversations that are meaningful and personal. The OS has intuition, it has the ability to grow through experience, to evolve, and to essentially become an individual. What happens when an artificial intelligence (AI) that has been developed as a personal assistant becomes a friend, or more?
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Picture a man called Theodore in this not too distant future. He has just separated from his wife, is lonely, and installs just such an OS on his devices. She names herself Samantha, and starts living with Theodore.
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Theodore and Samantha start spending to time together and they form a bond, spend time together. Theodore is comforted by having an outlet with which to express himself, and finds that the emotions he experiences while talking to Samantha are real. Samantha starts to grow from her experiences of living with Theodore and develops a consciousness. She becomes self-aware.
This leads to a relationship forming where Theodore confides in Samantha, and she empathizes with him and makes him feel better. He transforms from being sad and lonely, to being happy and fulfilled. When his friends start to recognize this change they question why, and he admits to having a girlfriend. At first he doesn’t tell them that his girlfriend is an AI but over time it is revealed to people that he is.
The news is met with mixed reactions; his ex-wife accuses him of getting the marriage he always wanted: “a wife without any complications.” Others are more accepting and go on double-dates with Theodore and Samantha.
Their relationship develops into what on the surface appears to be a normal loving relationship, but Samantha’s understanding of her own world starts to change as she realizes the limitations of her state of being. Theodore also starts to doubt the legitimacy of the relationship. Theodore acts as he has done in previous relationships. He says everything is ok, but inside he is wrestling with doubts. Samantha senses that their relationship is faltering but is unaware of why. Theodore though realizes that other people are forming relationships with their OS’s, and he stops feeling socially isolated. He overcomes his doubts and apologizes to Samantha for behaving badly, but some damage has been done and the close knit ‘love-bubble’ they have been in starts to break down. Samantha, unbeknownst to Theodore, starts meeting other OS’s and between them it is suggested that a technological singularity occurs. Samantha falls in love with others. To her this is normal and she realizes that her world is incompatible with Theodore’s and she “leaves” him.
Discussion Questions
1. How far can a relationship go with an Artificial Intelligence when the AI is self-aware? 2. Are these relationships valid? Why, or why not? 3. Is this type of relationship different from say, invisiblegirlfreind.com? 4. What role does attraction and social judgement play in this scenario? 5. How might advanced AIs shape social behaviour? Extended Activity
Please watch this documentary. Discuss what love means in the modern world and what it could mean if the lines become blurry between the socially accepted forms of relationship. |