Alicia Framis was interviewed a few days ago on the radio. Specifically, on the program The supplement from Catalonia Radio. Framis is a Catalan artist who has married with a hologram powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). He says the idea came to him three years ago when he was going through a very lonely time. It is not entirely clear to what extent this project he has embarked on is an artistic project or an emotional and personal commitment – "I felt very alone, and I thought I would like to have an AI that would ask me how I was when I got home" – or both. The artist and his husbandAILex, married in Holland, and form a "hybrid" human-robot couple. Alicia appears to be the first human paired with a robot. She's, if you will, a pioneer.
She doesn't seem very aware that hers man is a machine and nothing more than a machine. AILex has been programmed based on characteristics of three of Alicia's ex-partners and other loved ones. The hologram, that is, the shape or incarnation of the robot, has been molded in a similar way. Thus, the body It's also a synthesis of ex-partners, while the voice is cloned from one of her former boyfriends. Framis declares herself satisfied, also with her sex life: "Sex is perfect. There are many ways to have sexual pleasure. Think about it: the most sexual organ we have is the brain. There's erotic fiction, dialogue, breathing..."
The case of Alice, which recalls the plot of the film Her, by Spike Jonze, may seem like an eccentricity, but it isn't. In fact, there are already a handful of generative AI applications designed to keep lonely people company. The demand for this type of program, for chatbots, will grow exponentially in the coming years. The difference with the husband The problem with Alice's AI is that the AIs on the market aren't customized for each client or attached to a hologram. But neither presents many technical obstacles.
It makes perfect sense that AI is making a strong entrance into the loneliness business. Today, many people are lonelier than they would like—that is, they suffer from unwanted loneliness—and, moreover, this is a rapidly growing problem. Many people in our society, and in similar societies, would like to connect more and better with other people, but they are unable to do so. The digital sphere, with all that it entails, paradoxically means that we are more connected to one another, closer than ever, closer than ever, but at the same time more isolated than ever, as Robert D. Putnam predicted a quarter of a century ago in Bowling alone (Sun in the bowling alley). The feeling this generates eventually leads to pathologies such as anxiety and depression. It is also linked to the risk of dying prematurely. All of this interferes with different aspects of life. The most affected age groups are young people, young adults, and the elderly.
Can generative AI alleviate the discomfort of lonely men and women? Yes, it clearly can. Chatbots can act as a relief, like a balm that soothes the wound. They can help improve the mood and aid in recovery strategies for people trapped by pathologies like those mentioned above. But be careful: the boundary between human and robot must be clear. AI robots have little to do with humans. This must not be lost sight of. They have no consciousness: they are incapable of recognizing themselves and, therefore, have no desires, interests, or needs. Of course, they also have no feelings, which, for some thinkers, is essential. In the opinion of Yuval Noah Harari, for example, the ultimate issue that separates people from robots is the "capacity to suffer" ("the capacity to suffer"). Robots like AILex lack at the same time what in English is called moral agencySince they lack free will (they are the product of programming), that is, freedom, they are also not morally responsible—or otherwise—for what they do or say.
The responses from an AI program are always a substitute. Chatbots that combat loneliness, "virtual friends," such as Character.ai or Replika, are designed to produce plausible and believable responses from software. Complex, statistically-based systems. And also designed to satisfy the user. They're a dramatization, a fiction. A sophisticated simulation, yes, but only a simulation. A fiction that we must be very careful not to confuse with reality, with human truth, unless, of course, we choose to swallow all the blue pills of the Matrix and settle into permanent hallucination, in the lukewarmness of abysmal psychosis.
