Great post. I agree we'll beat societal loneliness through AI assistance. Will be a fun bumpy ride!
"Our conception of what a world where man and machine co-exist mostly comes from Sci-Fi. Nerds everywhere are rejoicing that their fantasies are now becoming a reality! I include myself in this bucket. No shade."
"Well yes, but remember how people said they'd never get attached to a virtual pet or an online persona? Then games like 'Tamagotchi' or 'Neopets' became sensations. People genuinely grieved when their virtual pets "died." Not speaking from experience or anything.."
A few quotes where you playfully allude to the stigma associated with emotionally bonding to AI today.
The low social cachet is one of movement's biggest road bumps. "Her" features it as a central plot point. No one wants to seem desperate for friendship, turn people off with possible clinginess, and risk a doom loop in their social life. Furthermore, if you're someone with great AI friends, will people feel secure investing in your friendship or wonder if you going to flake to watch a favorite movie with your GPTamogachi? I know a few people who would rightfully feel hurt in a world where I announced my best friends or dearest companions were AI.
Yet no one would blink if I said I had a few excellent AI assistants. I think we'll have obfuscation, like men hiring "coaches" that take more than a few pages from the therapy playbook. My executive coach is just for my startup's operations though! ;)
What does a high-status, high-functioning social group where everyone has AI buddies look like? We would be well-served with more depictions of this.
Great post. I agree we'll beat societal loneliness through AI assistance. Will be a fun bumpy ride!
"Our conception of what a world where man and machine co-exist mostly comes from Sci-Fi. Nerds everywhere are rejoicing that their fantasies are now becoming a reality! I include myself in this bucket. No shade."
"Well yes, but remember how people said they'd never get attached to a virtual pet or an online persona? Then games like 'Tamagotchi' or 'Neopets' became sensations. People genuinely grieved when their virtual pets "died." Not speaking from experience or anything.."
A few quotes where you playfully allude to the stigma associated with emotionally bonding to AI today.
The low social cachet is one of movement's biggest road bumps. "Her" features it as a central plot point. No one wants to seem desperate for friendship, turn people off with possible clinginess, and risk a doom loop in their social life. Furthermore, if you're someone with great AI friends, will people feel secure investing in your friendship or wonder if you going to flake to watch a favorite movie with your GPTamogachi? I know a few people who would rightfully feel hurt in a world where I announced my best friends or dearest companions were AI.
Yet no one would blink if I said I had a few excellent AI assistants. I think we'll have obfuscation, like men hiring "coaches" that take more than a few pages from the therapy playbook. My executive coach is just for my startup's operations though! ;)
What does a high-status, high-functioning social group where everyone has AI buddies look like? We would be well-served with more depictions of this.
https://www.listal.com/viewimage/15346688