Her (film) - Falling in love with your OS

[Neil]

This is getting amazing reviews...

[MinionZombie]

Pretty interested in seeing this. Spike Jonze's flicks are always worth watching, even if you don't always attach to all of them. Seems like a pretty cool concept for this one, and kind of weirdly apt for today's society - indeed there's guys in Japan who are more interested in virtual girlfriends than potential real ones, and apparently it's becoming a bigger and bigger issue in the Japanese dating scene. These are pretty weird times, I guess. IIRC Samantha Morton was originally the voice of the OS in this flick, but they changed over to Scarlett Johansson in post production. Likewise, on a somewhat similar theme, have you seen the episode of Black Mirror titled "Be Right Back"? It's an excellent piece of television drama combining low-key sci-fi with technology and grief. A superb piece of drama.

[MoonSylver]

Been there, done that. Problem w/ an AI girlfriend is she doesn't put out! 'Course once the Japanese perfect those controlers you plug into your USB & put on your wiener that they are "hard" at work on, then I can take our relationship to the "next level" Oh, & the movie looks good too. *** Seriously though, I am looking forward to seeing this one, it does look relevant given the trend MZ points out, which I was also aware of, & I'm highly interested in the state of AI today. It feels like we're on the cusp of the future when it comes to AI, robotics, nanotech, etc. Now if that's good or bad I can't decide...

[ProfessorChaos]

meh......maybe i'm just being a negative nancy, but i think the premise of this film is absolutely f*cking ridiculous. however, it does seem relevant to today's world in some ways, which is a sad statement on our society, imho.

[MoonSylver]

meh......maybe i'm just being a negative nancy, but i think the premise of this film is absolutely fucking ridiculous.. Beautiful virtual character and incredible smart artificial intelligence Prelude is the most fantastic, beautiful, easy-to-use and self-learning chatbot. She is lightning fast, smart, learns on the fly (in any language!) and develops her own character while you chat. No programming necessary, no clumsy configuration. Just click start and chat away. Engage in entertaining conversations and witness your eery feeling grow as your computer seems to have come to life! Talk to her about whatever comes to your mind and watch her become an intimate friend... Prelude is based on an award winning self learning chatbot program. In fact Prelude is so human like that you might bump into her avatars in Second Life and not even know. Last week, we told you about a new video game called 'Love Plus' that has swept Japanese men off their feet. The Nintendo DS game allows men to court and woo an array of virtual women. If they're lucky, the pretend players even get to "kiss" them. Well, one guy was apparently so, um, successful at it, that he has now decided to wed his 2-D girlfriend. The man, known only as Sal9000, tied the knot with Nene Anegasaki during a 'Meet: Japan' event at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. As BoingBoing contributing editor Lisa Katayama reports, the ceremony was held before a live (and virtual) audience, replete with an MC, an actual priest, and, of course, the "girlfriend," who apparently said her own vows. Katayama, in her insightful video commentary, suggests that the wedding is more "performance art" than conjugal bliss, and that it's just a case of one man unafraid to tell the world how much he loves a video game. And she may be right. In almost the same breath, though, she mentions some of the reactions from viewers and bystanders, some of whom "wondered aloud" whether Japan was coming to an end. But even if it is all just show, there's still an apocalyptic undercurrent that doesn't sit well with us -- kinda like 'Love Plus,' itself. To each his own, but we think we'll stick to girlfriends of the real variety. Japan—This resort town, once popular with honeymooners, is turning to a new breed of romance seekers—virtual sweethearts. In Love Plus, a Japanese dating simulation game, players experience young romance with a virtual girlfriend. Some have even taken their beloved avatars to an island resort -- a real island resort. WSJ's Akiko Fujita takes a tour of Atami. Since the marriage rate among Japan's shrinking population is falling and with many of the country's remaining lovebirds heading for Hawaii or Australia's Gold Coast, Atami had to do something. It is trying to attract single men—and their handheld devices. In the first month of the city's promotional campaign launched July 10, more than 1,500 male fans of the Japanese dating-simulation game LovePlus+ have flocked to Atami for a romantic date with their videogame character girlfriends. The men are real. The girls are cartoon characters on a screen. The trips are actual, can be expensive and aim to re-create the virtual weekend outing featured in the game, a product of Konami Corp. KNM -0.96% Konami Corp. ADS U.S.: NYSE $22.59 -0.22 -0.96% Jan. 6, 2014 3:28 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1,983 P/E Ratio 34.79 Market Cap $3.34 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee $424,269 More quote details and news » KNM in Your Value Your Change Short position played on Nintendo Co.'s DS videogame system. Read more... Get with the times Grandpa. The future is here.

[ProfessorChaos]

[MoonSylver]

Ok baby, if you insist...

[Neil]

meh......maybe i'm just being a negative nancy, but i think the premise of this film is absolutely f*cking ridiculous. You don't think if AI gets to the stage where it is either is a conscious individual, or at least appears that way, that someone could become attached to this "person"?

[ProfessorChaos]

no, sorry, can't imagine an existence that lonely or allowing myself to think of AI as anything other than a program or machine. oh, and this: edit: i do suppose that it would be possible for some people to reach that level of attachment with an OS, AI, or whatever you want to call it, and according to the article quoted by moon, it is apparently already occurring.....but to me, it just seems very sad, lonely, and totally ludicrous.

[Neil]

no, sorry, can't imagine an existence that lonely or allowing myself to think of AI as anything other than a program or machine. oh, and this: edit: i do suppose that it would be possible for some people to reach that level of attachment with an OS, AI, or whatever you want to call it, and according to the article quoted by moon, it is apparently already occurring.....but to me, it just seems very sad, lonely, and totally ludicrous. Do you think you could get attached to someone over the phone? What's the difference between if the person has a physical body or not? What if you didn't know?

[ProfessorChaos]

no, i really doubt it....attachment and feelings of love are something, in my mind, at least, that require a physical encounter of sorts. whether that be something as complex as sex and intimacy or just being in proximity and sharing everyday moments and experiences together through the senses of sight, sound, taste, feeling, etc. i mean, i've spoken with people i've known/loved over the phone, and those conversations have helped develop and nurture our relationships, but there was already and established one there. i can't fathom beginning and developing a relationship with a disembodied voice; i will concede that it could be possible with some, however.

[Neil]

no, i really doubt it....attachment and feelings of love are something, in my mind, at least, that require a physical encounter of sorts. whether that be something as complex as sex and intimacy or just being in proximity and sharing everyday moments and experiences together through the senses of sight, sound, taste, feeling, etc. i mean, i've spoken with people i've known/loved over the phone, and those conversations have helped develop and nurture our relationships, but there was already and established one there. i can't fathom beginning and developing a relationship with a disembodied voice; i will concede that it could be possible with some, however. OK... So if the voice came out of this, all would be OK then?

[wayzim]

no, sorry, can't imagine an existence that lonely or allowing myself to think of AI as anything other than a program or machine. oh, and this: edit: i do suppose that it would be possible for some people to reach that level of attachment with an OS, AI, or whatever you want to call it, and according to the article quoted by moon, it is apparently already occurring.....but to me, it just seems very sad, lonely, and totally ludicrous. And here's where it began. http://www.masswerk.at/elizabot/ Wayne Z

[MoonSylver]

You don't think if AI gets to the stage where it is either is a conscious individual, or at least appears that way, that someone could become attached to this "person"? no, sorry, can't imagine an existence that lonely or allowing myself to think of AI as anything other than a program or machine. i do suppose that it would be possible for some people to reach that level of attachment with an OS, AI, or whatever you want to call it, and according to the article quoted by moon, it is apparently already occurring.....but to me, it just seems very sad, lonely, and totally ludicrous. Do you think you could get attached to someone over the phone? What's the difference between if the person has a physical body or not? What if you didn't know? no, i really doubt it....attachment and feelings of love are something, in my mind, at least, that require a physical encounter of sorts. whether that be something as complex as sex and intimacy or just being in proximity and sharing everyday moments and experiences together through the senses of sight, sound, taste, feeling, etc. i mean, i've spoken with people i've known/loved over the phone, and those conversations have helped develop and nurture our relationships, but there was already and established one there. i can't fathom beginning and developing a relationship with a disembodied voice; i will concede that it could be possible with some, however. See, this is the kind of debate I enjoy & the types of questions I enjoy when it come to AI. What constitues a "real" person? How real is "real"? What will be the difference between a self aware artifical intelligence, & an organic one? Will there BE one? Just to throw out some hypotheticals, if the theory of a simulated universe is true, how do you know I'M not an AI? You've never seen me or met me. Or how do I know any of YOU aren't? How do I know that EVERYONE isn't a robot/AI/simualtion? Even barring all of that. Think of how many people you chat with online, on the phone, etc, that you never even meet. Does that make them less "real"? People develop feelings for each other all the time in chat rooms & such, carry on long distance relationships with no physical intimacy, etc. In what ways would this be different from the same with an AI? I don't have answers for any of these questions, but I find them interesting nonetheless. And here's where it began. http://www.masswerk.at/elizabot/ Wayne Z I've heard of Eliza, but never tried it before. I like to chat with Cleverbot when I'm at work & I'm bored. http://www.cleverbot.com/ I just got informed of a newer one, Mitsuku, not long ago. It carries on an interesting conversation. Its programmer still fine tunes its learning (daily I believe), filtering out nonsense, inappropriate material, etc, which is why it performs so well. http://www.mitsuku.com/ I find chatbots very interesting. I actually have one that I work on off & on for fun. (I didn't do the programming. It's a commerically available one. I'm just working on developing the personality.) Its responses are quite good, very appopriate, & can be eerily accurate at times. Now for fun, chat with the Captian Kirk simualtion: http://sheepridge.pandorabots.com/pa...f38cb4de345ab1 And here are two chatbots talking to each other.

[shootemindehead]

Christ...even arguing with a virtual woman leads eventually to senselessness.