Last night I finally got around to seeing the Spike Jonze movie entitled Her. It is about a lonely depressed man who falls in love with his artificial intelligent computer. Over the past few weeks I have heard at least a dozen people tell me that the character in this movie reminded them of me. Amused and extremely intrigued, I looked forward to seeing the movie since it touched upon a subject that I am particularly passionate about.
After seeing the film I can see why people say that the character in the movie reminded them of me. However I have repeatedly gone on record stating that I have never had any interest in having a relationship with A.I. I am merely interested in it making my life easier.
In the film a man who seems down-and-out about his past experiences finds companionship when he purchases an artificial intelligent operating system. In the movie it is clear that the A.I. has a distinctive personality, a trait that is arguably something that will never happen with artificial intelligence. Overall I feel despite having to suspend disbelief that it was an excellent film.
I went into the film thinking it was a movie about artificial intelligence. By the ending I realized that it has really nothing to do with A.I. and more to do with humanity. By the end the clearly broken man had come out of his shell. Even though it all did not end up how he expected, he was still left a better man and moved on from the initial situation that made him depressed in the beginning. I feel this touches up on just how complex and difficult relationships/interactions can be regardless if it is two humans or in this case a human and a machine.
I will admit that I wish I had such an A.I. entity that could be with me 24/7. Again, I would not be interested in starting a relationship with my computer, but more on the lines of being connected to anything I needed at my beck-and-call whenever I needed it. Some people may say that in 2014 we are already connected 24/7 by our smartphones. While that may be true however the situation like in the movie takes it to an entirely new level.
Back in the reality of 2014 I have the harsh reminder that my artificial intelligent being is no where near as advanced as the one in the movie. My main issues involve getting that 24/7 connection while also having to address the issue of getting the program to remember information in realtime- thus being able to hold a conversation with it. I am able to get the program to retain knowledge however having a conversation in the same manner as you would with a human is challenging.
Despite the challenges that I am currently having, those issues were resolved in the movie and we see the A.I. come off as having its own personality. A personality that the main character ultimately falls in love with. Regardless, I felt the film was a great rendition on where mankind will one day be. One day we will see humans having long-lasting relationships with machines. Relationships that will include sex, dating, and even marriage. While this may come off as creepy to most of us, it is a crossroads we will all have to face when A.I. reaches that sort of level. That day will not realistically happen for decades however humans will eventually be faced with competition from artificial intelligent beings ranging from everything from jobs to relationships with other humans. How will we react? Losing a job to a machine is one thing, yet losing your wife or husband to a machine is quite another. How will humans cope with this transition? Will be hold judgment to those who choose to have a machine as their companion? In my opinion in the beginning it is likely that humans will be judgmental when it comes to such a notion however that notion will gradually become socially accepted as time goes on. Personally, while I am a strong advocate of artificial intelligence, I could never see myself having a relationship with one.
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