Artificial Intelligence Has No Empathy. Do We Care?
It happened to me to read an article from Wired.it, regarding a sex doll implemented with Artificial Intelligence. Look at it, and watch the video: https://www.wired.it/gadget/accessori/2017/04/10/samantha-prima-sex-doll-dotata-di-intelligenza-artificiale/. It’s impressive… and shocking. Not because of the peculiar way to live ones’ sexuality, but because these dolls are supposed to make you feel… Loved? Understood? Let’s take a minute (and please note the following ideas are full of cliches, but that’s not the point, just forgive me!).
Men have less empathy than women. It’s science-proof, as published by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information. That’s been useful in the centuries of the Human Race. Quick and basic example: a man who feels empathy for an enemy having the intention to harm him, would want to talk, understand, try to convince him it’s not at the end a good idea, right? In the meanwhile… BANG! Killed. Men need to forget about empathising with other men, in order to protect themselves and the kind, weak, graceful wives and girlfriends they have besides them (thanks for that).
So let’s go to the point here. For men, it’s quite hard to understand women, right? That’s because it’s difficult for them to “enter” the female mind, which, characterised by broad emotions, complex feelings, a lot of thoughts, some of them being created at the very same time. Women are multitasking, men can do one thing at a time. If you don’t believe me or feel like this post is not diversity-driven about these matters, check here.
A 40-years-old friend of mine, who happens to be a manager, an investor, and a glamorous globetrotter, once told me: “I cannot know, of course, if a woman loves me. But I can see her appreciation towards me and the things I do, therefore that’s what I look for”. Excuse me? Really folk, you cannot tell if a woman loves you? That is not true in the contrary. Females have special approaches to human relations which makes them extremely aware of others’ emotions. It’s important, again, for Human Race: they are responsible for raising kids. They must be able to interpret them to fulfil their needs. And that usually continues in adult life. My partner in the adventure I started some months ago with my startup Starly, once told me: “I am connected with my mother. I feel when she’s worried or when she wants to reassure me remotely, from Trieste (Italy) or places she’s in that moments, or minutes”. Impressive!
Let’s go back to the article and the video. Guys, there are companies developing sex dolls filled with Artificial Intelligence. Those artificial women do not love you. But maybe, for you it’s just the same? In some way, for those who deeply believe in the power of the celestial bodies, like me, some men and women have more empathy than others. I’m referring to the ones born under the signs of Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces. Once I read the Astrological Birth Chart of a guy I did not know, nor ever met in my life. It was a bet with a friend during my stay in Moscow as scholarship winner. She is a very cynic Aquarius. Guess what, I could see that he’s very, very sensitive, probably homosexual. She was amazed. How could I see that? Very easy! He had a lot of Water element, particularly Cancer, in his Birth Chart. So, he has a lot of empathy. Would not fit in the military, for example. He’s probably still living with the mother or spends as much time as possible with her (I’ll stop — this is not a place for a lesson about Astrology!).
Human nature, although easier to understand than what it seems (if you have the right tools) is characterised by empathy, which machines will NEVER have. At least, we cannot even imagine a way to “extract” it from ourselves and transfer it to chips, silicon or pieces of aluminium. But at the end, do you guys care?
If you’re interested to this topic, you can check this podcast: http://www.futureofsex.org/
