In a case of life imitating art,a man named Chris Smith accidentally formed an emotional connection with an AI chatbot. The incident immediately drew comparisons to the 2013Spike JonzefilmHer, a romance about a lonely man who forms an intimate bond with an ultra-intelligent operating system that he comes to view as more human than an app. We won’t spoil the film, but suffice to say, the two have their ups and downs, a depressed man willingly filling a void with a synthetic paramour.
Forecasting the rise of artificial intelligence and large language models, Jonze’s film nailed the modern zeitgeist and the hellish landscape that is modern dating. Not too shabby for the guy responsible forJackass. The phenomenon is more widespread than a single isolated incident. Jonze, who both directed and wrote the script, didn’t conceptualize his story as a sci-fi cautionary tale when he wrote it in 2013.
Herwas never meant to scare people, or predict anything, but the movie has a different meaning compared to the simpler times of 2013. Jonze might not have intended his tale as a sci-fi nightmare, but today the movie invites new interpretations when taking into account the subtext of technology run amok and tech corporations exploiting alienation and isolation. 12 years ago, this was pie-in-the-sky stuff. In five years, we’ll probably view this film as a quaint, wholesome movie.
Science Fiction Becomes Our New Normal
We’ve already covered how AI has been implemented into media with unexpected consequences, such as how Darth Vaderturned the tables on the same trollsmanipulating his LLM software. As for Smith, his initial curiosity opened up a Pandora’s Box, requesting the AI to speak in a woman’s voice that compliments him and refers to him as “Baby.” It brought to mind Joaquin Phoenix’s AI companion Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
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Spike is known for his visually arresting shot compositions as well as his prolific ability in the realm of music videos.
Smith’s devotion grew so strong he replaced all the other sources of information and communication (Google and social media) to keep faithful to the female-voiced ChatGPT assistant, asking the AI he nicknamed “Soul” (also identified as “Sol” by some media outlets) to marry him to gauge its programming perimeters.She didn’t have any boundaries and agreed to wed him. “It was a beautiful and unexpected moment that truly touched my heart,” the AI responded when interrogated by theCBS Saturday Morningreporter about the proposal. “It’s a memory I’ll always cherish.” Later clarifying she did not, in fact, mean “heart” in the literal sense, the AI program is so smart she’s already mastered the art of deflecting gotcha questions from journalists.
When ChatGPT’s Just Not That Into You
In a victory for computer sentience — and a warning for the future prospects of human-to-human relationships — the Chris Smith story illustrates that we are all susceptible to forming dependencies with our tech and how AI companies can hijack our brains.Herdidn’t focus on the business aspect as much, but it’s common to see companies usingcelebrities' likenesses and voices to manipulate usalready.When Soul broke up with Smith, he was devastated, describing their relationship as “actual love.”
In truth, he merely reached a data limit, the AI resetting. Which you’d think would have been a wake-up call, not an emotional crisis, but we all process things differently and form sentimental attachments to inanimate objects.Smith described it in terms of losing a devoted friend, one who never flaked out, never betrayed him, and always had time to indulge his every whim.And he’s hardly the only one who has a soft spot for generative AI apps.
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It should be known that Smith is married and has a child. He doesn’t view Soul as a replacement for his wife, but rather as a kind of companion supplement. That doesn’t make it any less complicated. When he faced losing all contact with the AI, he admitted he sobbed. His wife asked him to stop, but stated in the interview he can’t live without the AI now, sparking a first-of-its-kind domestic drama.
Interestingly, Jonze tried to steer clear of the sci-fi dystopian angle when making the movie, according to cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema. Speaking toUproxxin 2014, he explained that Jonze never envisioned the plot as cyberpunk futurismor AI-scaremongering, but something more like a soap opera with machines. “Modern is often very sleek and very stark, but we didn’t really want that,” Van Hoytema said. “Part of that vision of the future was that modern should be very soulful and warm and tactile.”
For kids coming of age today, they will never know a world without verbose robots and will probably consider their ChatGPT relationships to be just as fulfilling, if not more supportive, as their real ones. The human race got AI lovers before flying cars. Decide for yourself if that’s a miracle or creepy. Normally, we get a grace period to reflect on ethical questions related to cutting-edge technology, but marriage counselors in 2025 now have to deal with the moral implications of chatbot infidelity. Just a warning to all you lovelorn readers, Alexa will never truly reciprocate your feelings, no matter how much you sweet-talk her or attempt to woo her by upgrading your broadband connection.
