Thomas Bolander, Associate Professor at DTU Compute, talks about the perspectives in artificial intelligence on the basis of Spike Jonze’s most recent science fiction film ‘Her’. In the film, the divorced writer Theodore falls in love with his intelligent operating system, Samantha.
The world must be seen through the same sensory apparatus as a person’s
“Will it be possible in the future, as the film suggests, to love and be loved by an intelligent operating system? We may perhaps never make it that far, as the challenge for computers of the future will be to see the world in the same way as humans, or to apply the same sensory apparatus,” says Thomas Bolander.
Underestimates how complex humans are
“Another aspect in the context of artificial intelligence is that there is a tendency to underestimate how complex humans really are,” he continues. “Thus far, it has only proved possible to develop something that copies us. For example, we can programme computers to handle communication that consists of questions and answers, but they are still incapable of learning something new; in other words, they continue to lack a learning aspect that would contribute to making them human.”
Sources
Thomas Bolander has been interviewed several Danish media on the subjects of artificial intelligence and the film ‘Her’.
“Ditch your girlfriend – love your operating system instead” – the Danish newspaper Politiken 27 February 2014
“Can you love your operating system?” – the Danish newspaper Information 26 February 2014
“When your robot becomes your friend” – the Danish TV show DR2 Dagen, 28 February