Forget about relationships and the heartbreak that goes with it! Get a robot!
Robots
have been with us since before Star Wars. They have been cleaning, repairing
and some more sophisticated bots will soon be available to cook for us, do the
laundry, even babysit or tend to our elderly parents. Last year, a NJ based
company introduced a talking, touch-sensitive robot “companion”.
A
Japanese robot developer, H. Ishiguro, in Kyoto who also teaches at Osaka
University created a silicone doppelgänger so that he can interact on the
internet in two places. “You believe I’m real”. If you can’t tell the difference,
does it matter in the end whether you’re interacting with a human or machine?
Welcome to the future of dating, living and companionships!
The
movie HER (directed by Spike Jonze) opens
a window into this future when a withdrawn writer (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in
love with his computer's highly advanced ─sentient─ operating system (Scarlett
Johansson's voice): A futuristic sci-fi romance?
Is
it an odd, sad love story, combined with a meditation on technology as an
accelerator of social loneliness? Not a small part of it seems to be an
allegory of lonely guys and their fear of women.
Does
the movie force us to consider what constitutes a 'real' relationship in a
world where every interaction is filtered through technology, making it feel
like a vital contemporary romance?
One
critic found “The romantic intimacy is remarkable considering the two main
characters never kiss, or share an embrace, or even look at one another.”
Jonze is playing with hefty concepts here: loneliness, longing,
the nature of consciousness, the need for human connection - and, increasingly,
the fear of it. Her is a wistful, wonderful meditation on where we are
and where we might be going ─ another reviewer said.
As
a former matchmaker who was always faced with the task of finding the perfect
match for very client, I wished I could clone them or grow them in the garden
according to their specifications. Maybe a silicone-enhanced computerized
replica of a human is the answer to our dreams?
Happy
searching, dating, loving. This Valentine’s and every day hereafter!
Be yourself! Never give up! And remember: Thelongest relationship you're going to have is with YOURSELF!
Be yourself! Never give up! And remember: Thelongest relationship you're going to have is with YOURSELF!
Siggy Buckley, former matchmaker from Ireland.
1 comment:
What a unique perspective, Siggy. With the advancements in today's technology, who knows what the future will hold. For today, I will just hold on to my human sweetheart! Found my soulmate 30 years ago...prefer that warm body to the cold metal! Great post!
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