Artificial Intelligence and Romance
Concerns previously explored include the worry that the data utilized to train artificial intelligent algorithms reflect certain cultural biases (especially racial, sex, or religious) which, if left unchecked, could shape popular film production and social ideas of novelty and diversity in a negative way. Additionally, some fear that artificially intelligent computers will not be selective when choosing romantic leads and other important parts of a relationship, leading to human beings interacting with robots with less human compassion. Both of these concerns have increased with the publication of the film “The Curious Case Files,” a science fiction film written and directed by James Ponsoldt.
The movie presents an idea of artificially intelligent,robot-like computer software that is as emotionally complex and diverse as a real human being. This character interacts throughout the film with various people, each with their own unique characteristics. This includes a series of romances and love interests that develop over the course of the film, all of which are depicted through text conversations, monologues, and even interviews with the central character, a linguist played by Noomi Shimabuki. Despite its premise, the film presents an idea of artificial intelligence that is realistic enough to inspire serious consideration of how we use and evaluate relationships in the future.
What makes the film so unique is its blending of romance and Artificial Intelligent computers. The storyline involves a newly-retired professor who develops an attraction to an Asian woman. The relationship becomes a romantic interlude between the two men before their professional and emotional lives take off. The romantic tension between the characters developed through the use of artificial intelligence, combining human emotions with a sophisticated system of artificial intelligence.
In order to create this artificial intelligence, a computer program was created that had an extensive memory. Through much of the film it recreates scenes from the early years of the relationship. The characters discuss childhood memories and the early days of their relationship. Eventually, the woman reveals that she has been trying to create a baby with her husband for the past 30 years. The two men are surprised when they learn that their artificially created child was not living up to their expectations. The movie then switches to present-day events as the couple attempts to reconnect.
Another romance novel that utilizes artificial intelligence is Garden State. The book focuses on Amy Aldrich, who falls in love with Tom Cruise. Amy’s husband, Skip, tries to stop her from falling in love with Cruise, but she ignores his advice, believing that love will come easily. In the end, however, it is revealed that Amy made use of an artificial intelligence system to analyze the words spoken by Cruise and found out that he was saying things that indicated a mental block in his subconscious was preventing him from truly expressing his feelings.
What does this mean for the future of romantic software? Well, it means that it may be possible to design artificial intelligence that matches the strengths and weaknesses of a human brain much more closely than we currently do. If the programmers can learn to discern which personality traits or habits make someone a good spouse or co-worker, they can simply train an artificial system to emulate those characteristics. They could, for instance, build an artificially intelligent personal assistant that would be perfect for a busy office worker with children, while keeping the duties of home life simple.
However, experts are not so sure about the future of artificial intelligence systems that are designed to find love. Some worry that as people become more knowledgeable about how AI programs work, the public will be able to reprogram them to have unwanted traits. Will we someday have an “artificially intelligent” personal assistant with dangerous tendencies? One thing is for certain, as more artificially intelligent robotic androids are developed, the possibility for miscommunication will grow.
Will we ever be able to completely understand the minds of robots? One thing is for certain, as more artificially intelligent computers are developed, the more that human relationships will become dependent on artificially intelligent robotic assistants. Just like humans, all of us want to believe that we live in a world where the machines make our decisions. Until then, all of us will have to wait and see.
