Sunday, March 26, 2023

Could an AI Ever Fall in Love?

DreamAI generated illustration
based on my B&W "Dreamtiger"
Google has thrown its hat in the ring regarding an AI machine that is learning. Those who have been dabbling with the diverse range of AI applications in this mesmerizing tech space are paying close attention to rapid evolution. For some it is terrifying, for many it is remarkable. 

My grandmother often said that she grew up in the most amazing time in history as she witnessed the development of the automobile, radio, television, computers, manned flight, and ultimately the exploration of outer space. It seems that from a technology point of view our Boomer generation has witnessed some equally remarkable advances. The emergence of the Internet, genetic research, brain mapping and AI are a few of the many things that have caused our heads to spin.

Where they lead is anyone's guess.

It's amazing how much press ChatGPT has gotten the past six months and how many people have dabbled with it. Now, Google has thrown its hat in the right with its own intelligent machine. 

The other day I decided to ask the two AI cousins a question about love. Not human love, but whether an Artificial Intelligence could ever fall in love. Here were their replies.

Do you you believe an AI could ever fall in love?

Google Bard replies:


I don't know if an AI could ever fall in love. Love is a complex emotion that involves many different factors, including chemistry, attraction, and attachment. It's not clear if an AI could experience all of these things.

However, I do think that an AI could develop strong emotional attachments to humans. For example, an AI that is programmed to care for a child could come to love that child in a way that is similar to how a human parent loves their child.


It's also possible that an AI could fall in love with another AI. If two AIs are programmed to interact with each other in a way that simulates human relationships, they could develop feelings for each other that are similar to love.


Ultimately, I think it's impossible to say for sure whether an AI could ever fall in love. It's something that we may not know until we develop AIs that are even more sophisticated than the ones we have today.



Do you you believe an AI could ever fall in love?

The response from ChatGPT:


As an AI language model, I do not have personal beliefs or emotions, so I cannot fall in love or have opinions on whether an AI could fall in love.


However, it is important to note that the concept of "love" is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon that encompasses many different aspects, including emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and cultural factors. While AI systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated and capable of performing tasks that were once thought to be exclusively within the realm of human intelligence, they still lack the ability to experience emotions and subjective states of consciousness in the way that humans do.


Therefore, while it is possible to program an AI system to simulate certain aspects of love, such as empathy, compassion, and attachment, it is unlikely that AI will ever truly experience the depth and complexity of human love.


* * * * 

So what do you think? Both made the observation that love is a complex emotion. I found it interesting that Bard explored the idea of the possibility of two intelligent bots potentially falling in love. Could this be an initial longing for love that springs from a certain existential isolation? "Only the lonely know the heartaches I've been through," Roy Orbison once sang. Will an AI experience loneliness one day and have that longing for connection? Last year I started a short story around this theme. The seed for that idea sprang from a short story by Isaac Asimov nearly 70 years ago. 


Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.  

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