# data[].attributes.body
Can a human love a computer?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the new Spike Jonze film, Her, a man falls in love with his operating system. In some ways it's a commentary on modern society and our increasingly intimate relationship to technology; it's about the smartphones we bring to bed and the computers we wear to work. But there is also a lot of truth to the idea that people might fall in love with the ever more intelligent machines that they spend a greater amount of time with each day. For many of the psychologists, social scientists, and experts in artificial intelligence who study this kind of relationship, it's not a matter of if, but when.

The roots of this research date back to 1966, when an MIT professor named Joseph Weizenbaum created a computer program called Eliza, a "chatterbot" that mimicked a therapist by replying to what people said with leading, vaguely empathetic questions. A classic exchange with Eliza might go something like this:

Human: Well, my boyfriend made me come here.

Eliza: Your boyfriend made you come here?

Human: He says I'm depressed much of the time.

Eliza: I am sorry to hear you are depressed.

Human: It's true. I'm unhappy.

Eliza: Do you think coming here will help you not to be unhappy?

What Weizenbaum observed was that people treated Eliza as if it were a person, and that the software was capable of eliciting engaged, extended responses. The program was clever social engineering at work, not advanced artificial intelligence capable of carrying on a sustained conversation. But its effect was still profound. In fact, because test subjects weren't communicating with another human being, they sometimes felt more comfortable sharing painful, embarrassing, or intimate thoughts.

"When we communicate in an environment with fewer cues from facial expression and body language, people have a lot of room to idealize their partner," says Catalina Toma, an associate professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin. She points to research showing that humans who communicate remotely by email or chat often have an easier time forming personal bonds than people who meet face to face. "It can be hard for real people, with all the messy complications of the physical world, to compete with that."
"Having one-night stands with Androids will happen a lot sooner."
Jonze explores similar themes in Her. "You always wanted to have a wife without the challenges of dealing with anything actually real," scolds one of Theodore's (Joaquin Phoenix's) former lovers on learning that he's in a relationship with his operating system. Bonnie Nardi, a professor at the Department of Informatics at the University of California Irvine, says most people today don't believe they could fall in love with their computer. "They do, however, wish that love could be so simple," she says. "So programmable. So attainable. Computing machines beguile us because we have the dominion to program them."

There is a vast gap, of course, between the kind of artificial intelligence we have today and what is portrayed in Her. And crossing that uncanny valley will be difficult. "Before you can truly fall in love with your computer, you would have to be convinced it understands you and has a mind of its own. The difference between the movie and reality is that right now no machine can sustain the illusion for long," says Gary Marcus, a professor of psychology at NYU who has written extensively on artificial intelligence.
"Computing machines beguile us because we have the dominion to program them."
Professor Marcus believes that less complex intimacies, however, are likely to spring up as we evolve towards that goal of life like artificial intelligence. "People have different relationships with their dogs than they do with fellow humans; there are different kinds of love." As we progress towards more powerful artificial intelligence that can engage at a high level, machines may begin to fill simpler roles as less nuanced companions."It will be awhile before we can have with computers the kind of complex emotional relationship we have with other people, but I imagine people having one-night stands with Androids will happen a lot sooner."

While artificial intelligence may become an increasingly interesting companion - or even lover - there are some who doubt it could ever provide a partner for the deepest form of human love. "While a computer program could provide a captivating virtual romance, just as Eliza was not a bad therapist, we can look to another film, When Harry Met Sally ... to tell us why we are still going to pine for the real thing," says Nardi. It boils down to that ultimate human desire, the " I'll have what she's having." Nardi explains: "The private intimacy we crave might well issue from interacting with a computer program, but we'll never be happy with that. We want others to have what we are having, for which the living, breathing man or woman, in all their imperfection and stubborn lack of programmability, is essential."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The science of 'Her': we're going to start falling in love with our computers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the new Spike Jonze film, Her , a man falls in love with his operating system. In some ways it's a commentary on modern society and our increasingly intimate relationship to technology; it's about the smartphones we bring to bed and the computers we wear to work.

# data[].attributes.body
Chicago Style

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Purdue OWL: Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This section contains information on The Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, which was issued in 2017.

# data[].attributes.body
Bits to Ponder...

# data[].attributes.body
The Plan

# data[].attributes.body
Reflection Paper

# data[].attributes.body
Robots with feelings...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Amid a growing debate over humanity's place in the world alongside artificial intelligence, a Japanese telecom company has released a robot that it says has emotions. But rather than run in fear from it, we've welcomed it into our homes: Pepper, the "emotional robot," sold out within a minute of going on sale.

Created by Aldebaran Robotics and Japanese mobile giant SoftBank, Pepper went on sale to the general public in Japan June 20. It is "the first humanoid robot designed to live with humans," Aldebaran says on its website.

Pepper costs about $1,600. And like all good mobile products, there's a $120 per month data fee, as well as an $80 per month damage insurance fee. (Feelings don't come cheap.)

According to a news release, Pepper can pick up on human emotions and create his own using a "endocrine-type multi-layer neural network." No word on whether it's a learning computer. Pepper's touch sensors and cameras are said to influence its mood, which is displayed on the tablet-sized screen on its chest. Pepper will audibly sigh when unhappy, and can go around your house recording your family's daily activity, if you're in the market for an emotionally-charged security camera.

Aldebaran says Pepper can feel "joy, surprise, anger, doubt and sadness," but it doesn't offer how strongly it can feel these emotions. What happens when Pepper is having a bad day? Will it, like many humans, become irascible and uncooperative? Will it ask for some time alone? What happens if it figures out that its purpose in life is just to engage in small talk?

Thankfully, Pepper is only about four feet tall, with roller balls instead of legs, so even if it snaps and turns on its owners, you'll be safe if you can make it upstairs. There's also the issue of whether this robot has what would truly be considered emotions, or is just mimicking what humans would likely do in a given set of situations. That's worked out well for robots in science fiction recently, but in reality, we're probably quite a few decades away from artificial intelligence that could generate real emotions.

Aldebaran wasn't immediately available for comment on when Pepper will be available outside of Japan, but additional sales are scheduled for July after the initial 1,000 units sold out. SoftBank currently uses the robots in its stores as greeters, and it plans to offer Pepper to other stores in the future. Hopefully "boredom" is not an emotion Pepper can feel.

Most Popular

Read full story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Amid a growing debate over humanity's place in the world alongside artificial intelligence, a Japanese telecom company has released a robot that it says has emotions. But rather than run in fear from it, we've welcomed it into our homes: Pepper, the "emotional robot," sold out within a minute of going on sale.

# data[].attributes.body
Reflecting on Technology

# data[].attributes.body
Reading Assignments

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I am an administrator I am a teacher

CONTENT

Texts (and videos!) for ELA, Science, and Social Studies with scaffolds and higher-order questions

READING

The best features to
support, engage, and build stamina

ASSESSMENT

Data you need;
Feedback your students act on

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Engage every student in every lesson with Actively Learn's award-winning ELA, science, and social studies curriculum platform.

# data[].attributes.body
The Horror....

# data[].attributes.body
APA Guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We are a globally renowned resource that provides assistance with English to students, teachers, professionals, and organizations across the world. Our goal is to assist clients in their development as writers - no matter their skill level.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Purdue OWL® - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We are a globally renowned resource that provides assistance with English to students, teachers, professionals, and organizations across the world. Our goal is to assist clients in their development as writers - no matter their skill level.

# data[].attributes.body
How true is this?

# data[].attributes.body
Something to think about...