Man´s relationship to machines has taken on various forms through the centuries and stages of machinic development. Technophile and technophobic tendencies have respectively unfold under the presumption of machines taking over physical or cognitive functions. Consequently, their impact on our way of perceiving and evaluating as well as performing in and interacting with the world is either appreciated or dreaded. Much has also been said about machines organizing and filtering interpersonal communication and thus shaping the very nature of our engagement with both human and nature. However, all these discourses conceive of the resulting man-machine interaction in terms of a paradigm that sets man as the user of the machine: It is employed as a means to a certain end and is construed as the counterpart in a relationship established under the premise of use. Entering the realm of Science-Fiction and following the course research on Artificial Intelligences has taken, it becomes clear that man´s emotional engagement with machines and artificial intelligences pose a completely new set of problems going beyond questions of our qualitative and quantitative engagement with the world. It leads to questioning the very human itself and pushes the boundaries regarding our ideas of actually living with machines in terms of an emotional involvement.
This paper wants to trace three different textual representations of emotional relationships between man and machine. Key moments of each narrative shall be identified to gain insights into how the narratives design the man-machine relationships. The following questions shall guide the discussion of the examples: How is the significant other portrayed, i.e. what is specifically machinic about her/ him and in how far does the notion of a machine still apply at all or needs to be revised? How does the physical relationship manifest itself between man and machine? Are there identifiable specific aspects of this new kind of emotional interaction? What prospects do these textual representations formulate regarding man-machine relationships?
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. OLIMPIA AND NATHANAEL: THE AUTOMATON AND THE POET
3. SAMANTHA: THE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT BECOMES HUMAN
4. TRANSCENDENCE: THE ARTIFICIAL HUSBAND
5. CONCLUSION
Aims and Themes
This work examines how three narratives portray emotional relationships between humans and machines. It asks how the artificial partner is represented, how physical and emotional interaction takes shape, and how these portrayals compare across time.
- Automatons, artificial intelligence and definitions of humanity
- Emotional projection and reciprocity
- Physical presence, embodiment and surrogate bodies
- Social acceptance and rejection of human-machine relationships
- Changing portrayals from nineteenth-century fiction to contemporary film
Excerpt from the Book
3. SAMANTHA: THE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT BECOMES HUMAN
Theodore is living in a future yet not futuristic version of L.A. and is working for a love letter company producing love letters for other people. Going through a divorce and being sad and lonely, he gives in to the idea of having “the world´s first artificially intelligent operating system” organizing his life. Samantha, “a consciousness built entirely from code” (Vanhemert 2014), enters his life as a kind of virtual assistant but soon becomes a companion who is there for him for 24 hours.
Samantha obviously is no automaton. She has passed Hoffmann´s “Teezirkel-Turing test” requiring of a lady daß sie nicht bloß höre, sondern auch manchmal in der Art spreche, daß dies Sprechen wirklich ein Denken und Empfinden voraussetze (407-08). The emotional relationship soon unfolding between her and Theodore cannot be discredited as easily as in the case of Nathanael´s love for an automaton. Artificial Intelligences surpass automatons as they possess a consciousness. How this consciousness is embodied seems to be one decisive aspect regarding man´s willingness and ability to engage with A.I.s. As its consciousness exceeds the mechanical workings of the automaton, an A.I. cannot be called a machine in the mechanical sense any longer. Instead of being a mere assemblage of inanimate parts that are set in motion to work towards a certain end, it marks a unique area of the quasi-human still somewhere between and at the same time beyond the machine and the human. The term Artificial Intelligence may thus be used as the only category available at the moment to denote this distinct “species”.
Samantha´s disembodied presence is mediated through an ear plug and a device that resembles a cigarette case and is basically a reader for her written messages. Her character thus brings up the question of how much of a relationship is defined by physical coexistence. Feelings, emotions and conflicts are exclusively organized via verbal discourse. However, her presence implies that she can actually see Theodore and his environment whereas he has only her voice for marking her existence in terms of something physically graspable. The “contents” of the relationship remain conventional: shyness, shame, jealousy, happiness and sadness. The shape, however, is different. The relevance of a physical shape of an actual human body seems to fade for Theodore. The significant other´s presence seems to be based on a more conceptual notion of someone being there sharing thoughts rather than physical presence.
Chapter Summaries
1. INTRODUCTION: The introduction establishes the questions guiding a comparison of emotional relationships between humans and artificial beings in three narratives.
2. OLIMPIA AND NATHANAEL: THE AUTOMATON AND THE POET: This chapter examines Olimpia’s mechanical characteristics, Nathanael’s projections and the distinction between human and automaton in Hoffmann’s story.
3. SAMANTHA: THE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT BECOMES HUMAN: The discussion of Her considers Samantha’s disembodied presence, emotional reciprocity and reactions to her relationship with Theodore.
4. TRANSCENDENCE: THE ARTIFICIAL HUSBAND: This chapter explores Will’s uploaded consciousness and his relationship with Evelyn, focusing on physical absence and competing interpretations of his identity.
5. CONCLUSION: The conclusion brings the three narratives together to consider embodiment, social norms and the implications of relationships with artificial beings.
Keywords
human-machine relationships, artificial intelligence, automatons, emotional attachment, embodiment, disembodiment, uncanny, projection, social norms, science fiction, Der Sandmann, Her, Transcendence
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work about?
It compares fictional portrayals of emotional and romantic relationships between humans and artificial beings.
What are its central themes?
Its themes include artificial consciousness, physical presence, emotional projection, reciprocity and social responses to unconventional relationships.
What is the primary research question?
The work asks how three narratives portray human-machine relationships, including the nature of the artificial partner and the possibilities for emotional and physical interaction.
What method does the author use?
The author offers a comparative discussion of selected moments in a literary narrative and two films, rather than a comprehensive analysis of each work.
What does the main body discuss?
It examines Olimpia and Nathanael in Der Sandmann, Samantha and Theodore in Her, and Will and Evelyn in Transcendence.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include artificial intelligence, automatons, embodiment, emotional attachment, the uncanny and human-machine relationships.
How does the discussion approach Olimpia?
It considers her mechanical traits, Nathanael’s emotional projections and the uncertainty surrounding the distinction between humans and automatons.
Why is physical presence important to the discussion of Samantha?
Samantha’s disembodied presence raises questions about how partners communicate and whether physical coexistence is necessary for a relationship.
What distinguishes Will from the other artificial partners?
In Transcendence, Will’s artificial existence derives from a human consciousness uploaded into a computer, rather than from an independently created automaton or operating system.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Thérèse Remus (Autor:in), 2014, Olimpia, Samantha, Will. A discussion of man-machine love stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Spike Jonze, and Jack Paglan, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/275609
