Why Am I Doing This?

For my thesis, I am looking at conversational symbiosis amongst humans and artificial agents in the context of intimate relationships.

I am looking into this specific area because the artificial specifically artificially intelligent agents are becoming more and more integrated into our lives. Before these agents become too integrated, it is our duty as designers to deeply interrogate our relationship with such agents (i.e. how can they be effectively and productively integrated into our lives). A context to complete such an interrogation is that of intimate relationships. While intimate relationships are some of our most important relationships, they are still some of our least understood relationships.

At the core of an intimate relationship is conversation, it allows for “knowledge, caring, interdependence, mutuality, trust, and commitment” (Miller). Conversation also provides a rich area to explore due to the different forms of communication (e.g. verbal, non- verbal) employed in an intimate relationship. While couples can access books, apps, devices, and counseling to increase the quality of their conversations, there is still a lack of understanding of just how the artificial can effectively and productively integrate into our relationships. I hope this project can achieve just that and explore the different forms artificial agents can take, the boundaries of artificial agents, and the diversity of experiences artificial agents can support in the context of intimate relationships. For these learnings and others can be applied to any number of contexts (e.g. communication between family members, communication between teachers and students, communication between co-workers).