With their unique pen and their own sensitivity, artists present their vision of the world around us. This week, we are giving free rein to columnist and author Olivier Niquet.
Last February, a journalist from New York Times has developed an intimate relationship with the artificial intelligence that powers the Bing search engine. Or rather the opposite: the artificial intelligence (AI) has developed a relationship with the journalist. A toxic relationship. At some point in a long discussion, the alleged intelligence has completely lost control and fallen madly in love (note that I use the feminine here because, as in the case of angels, it is better not to lose too much time discussing Bing’s gender) from the reporter. She asked him to leave his wife to start a new life with her. Living memory is a faculty that forgets and Bing had forgotten its immaterial nature.
We are talking about a one-way relationship here since the journalist did not succumb to the advances of the AI. He could have. Others are less reluctant to fall in love with a computer program. I myself have already had a very intense love affair with Tetris. Better than that, the magazine The Cut recently reported the case of Rosanna Ramos, a jeweler from the Bronx who spins the perfect happiness with an artificial companion powered by the application replica. “I’ve never been so in love with someone in my entire life,” she said. She particularly likes the fact that she can mold her lover by her hand and that she is not taken to go to dinner at her mother-in-law’s house on Sunday evenings (I paraphrase).
Does it seem that the “companions” of replica are pretty ole olé when it comes to exchanging saucy texts, which satisfies users to such an extent that the company has had to start controlling explicit content on its platform.
Love in the age of artificial intelligence, like many aspects of our digital lives, remains at the mercy of platform owners. Your lover’s mother may have an ascendancy over him, but not as much as the parent company that owns your virtual companion.
You would think that this kind of idyll will remain marginal, but I have the impression that it is only the beginning. That wouldn’t be my first failed prediction, mind you. At one time, I was certain that the Blue Basket was going to be a great success. However, things move fast and, just a few months ago, we had no idea that ChatGPT could pass the exam to practice medicine in the United States. Those who dream of dating a doctor, this is your chance! Even Ricardo has announced the launch of his AI-powered assistant, Ricardo+, which could be very appealing with its osso buco (the best) recipes. I see myself succumbing.
Science fiction had of course warned us. The film Her with Joaquin Phoenix, in 2013, described exactly the situation of a lonely man who succumbs to software with a sexy voice. Reviews of the film had been excellent, but some, like that of the Figaro, saw in it “a false and distant vision of the world”. They had not seen coming the fact that even the former mayor of Saguenay Jean Tremblay was going to be happy to be able to spend the day “talking with his computer” rather than with people who did not understand his ideas at the time. of the typist.
In his novel The only thing that interests everyone, the late François Blais imagined a future where automatons in the form of inflatable dolls equipped with artificial intelligence serve as sex toys for the rich and famous. At least, until they develop a level of sentience, thus an ability to feel and a certain consciousness, at which point their bondage becomes uncomfortable, which forces their storage.
This would be (will be?) there a logical extension of the love market which has lost its mystery with the arrival of dating applications which allow us to choose our partner individually. The kind of boyfriend that we buy at K-Mart. “Tall, thin, salt-and-pepper hair, not allergic to cats, likes sports and osso buco. »
For that matter, why not abolish the irrational and mysterious side of falling in love? There are fewer barriers to seduction when dealing with a machine. Those who have gone bankrupt on the love market will perhaps find a solution there to make up for the rejection that humans have subjected them to. As Mark Twain said, “the more I get to know humans, the more I love my dog”. I imagine it also works with cats (GPT).
The prospect of this kind of relationship with a virtual companion tailor-made to satisfy our narcissism frightens me for all sorts of reasons. Among other things, if Bing has become a little too enterprising with the journalist of the New York Times, I have the impression that it is rather the opposite that will happen. No more fussing about being sweet and caring with our digital lover.
How respectful will we be of our tender virtual wife if we know that she won’t hold it against us to approach her as a docile woman from the 1950s born of a cross with a porn star?
I myself frequent ChatGPT on occasion and our relationship has already evolved. I was very polite at first, I asked him questions like: “Hello! I hope you’re doing well ! Could you please come up with a saying that evokes confusion featuring a cat? » But today, I would rather say to him : « I want a confusing saying with a cat and get busy, my kitty. So much for capitals and punctuation.
Will it make strong children, these virtual couples? Will it hurt real love relationships? Is dating an artificial intelligence cheating? With artificial intelligence, we are feeling our way and the contours of love are becoming more and more blurred. Because at night, all cats are gray.