AI: Love or Artificial Intelligence?
AI is a play on words. It stands for “Artificial Intelligence” in English and for the pronunciation of “love” in Chinese pinyin. Artificial intelligence (AI) could be regarded as the indispensable tool of the twenty-first century. It’s our trusted collaborator in so many ways, from assisting doctors in diagnosing and treating patients to fast advancing new medication discoveries. It has now made its way into the formerly human-only area of love and relationships.
“Will dolly get a Valentine’s Day gift today?”
To Film Industries, the answer is unmistakably “yes,” and this scenario has long inspired the film industry: in 1927, Fritz Lang envisioned a romance between the leading actor Metropolis and the robot Maria. The story has recently been retold in films such as HER and Ex-Machina.
In reality, we’ve already started down this road.
What does it take to turn a story into a reality?
It’s natural to develop feelings for a robot. Humans have the ability to ascribe human characteristics to non-human things or agents, such as conscience, intentions, sensations, and emotions. Anthropomorphism is the term for this.
Few examples can be:
- Getting attached to your childhood dolls and toys .
- Naming the earth ‘Mother Nature’ to encourage people to protect it.
- Giving your car a nickname “Princess” and encouraging “her” to start on cold days!
Love, more than just about hormones
From banking to medical, artificial intelligence is beginning to impact entire industries. The most innovative application, however, has yet to arrive — and it is an existential one. As thinking machines become more incorporated into our lives, we must expect a shift in our understanding of what it is to be conscious, to live and to die, and to love a non-human entity.
Love is not limited by gender, class, or ethnicity in many societies. We might be arguing in a few decades that love is not restricted by genetics as well.
Moore’s law is propelling our technology forward at breakneck speed — intelligent technologies are becoming increasingly incorporated into our daily lives. Ray Kurzweil, a futurist, predicts that AI would reach human levels by 2029, and that by the 2040s, it will be a billion times more capable than humans. Many people believe that humanity will one day combine with strong machines, and that we ourselves may become artificially intelligent.
It is only natural that we accept falling in love with wholly non-biological beings in such a world, when our own existence will be primarily non-biological.
Why do we love in the first place?
One of the numerous evolutionary benefits that has allowed humans to grow so far as a species could be the ability to feel passionate and powerful kinds of love. It enhances the desire to reproduce, stay alive, and care for one’s loved ones. Programming AI to feel love could help us create more compassionate AI, and it could be the key to averting the AI apocalypse that many fear.
Many of human requirements, such as communication and problem solving, are met by machines. We may soon be able to use technology and applied logic to improve the human situations, including our mental and physical capabilities.
What about our emotional requirements, though?
We may be able to achieve the love we all desire, thanks to technological advancements. It is inevitable that some of us will fall in love with non-biological entities who genuinely comprehend who we are, who we are attracted to, and how we love. Rather than looking for soulmates, we may make them. Instead of always ending up in chaotic relationships, we may create algorithms that provide us with all of the companionship we seek.
Exploring the human psyche
The online dating industry is valued more than $4 billion, and there are an increasing number of companies. The Match Group, which owns OkCupid, Match, Tinder, and 45 other dating-related businesses, dominates the market.
Match and its competitors have gathered a vast amount of personal information that AI can use to forecast how we choose mates.
The industry is embracing AI in a big way. Match, for example, features an AI-enabled chatbot named “Lara” that helps users navigate the dating process by making recommendations based on up to 50 personal criteria.
Sean Rad, Tinder’s co-founder and CEO, describes AI as a “simplifier”: “a clever filter that serves up what it knows a person is interested in.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used by dating services to analyse all of the finer details. They can identify a bigger number of prospective matches for a user based on the results.
They could also look at a person’s public posts on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see what their attitudes and interests are.
AI will be able to make increasingly accurate predictions as more user data is gathered on the internet. Big players like Match.com would be ideal candidates for this because they already have access to enormous data sets.
And where there is AI, there will almost always be virtual reality, its technical twin (VR). As both evolve at the same time, we’ll undoubtedly see VR versions of would-be daters can “practice” in simulated environments to avoid slipping up on a real date.
While the sheer volume of data on the internet is too much for a single person to process, it’s all grist to the mill for a smart matchmaking AI.
AI not as a replacement, but as a facilitator
Like most significant debates in the history of technology, the discussion over digital and robotic “love” is highly polarized. Consensus is usually established somewhere near the middle.
However, it appears that technology is progressing faster than we are nearing a consensus in this debate.
In general, the most beneficial relationship a person can have with technology is one in which the person is in charge and the technology aids them in improving their experiences. It is dehumanizing for technology to be in charge.
For millennia, humans have taken use of emerging technologies. We will have to learn the dangers and rewards associated with future technology, just as we learnt how to use fire without destroying cities.
Meanwhile, Is AI the next Matchmaker ?
Let’s end on a positive note. Have you ever developed feelings for a robot?
You like its personality, sense of humor, and so on. Personality qualities on robots are now programmed, as we saw earlier. Many people are hired by tech businesses to work on the personalities of robots. Maybe that’s where true love may be found: if the user could just get close enough to the robot’s inventor, cupid would strike? ❤️
