Since AI is a progressing technology, we can expect many more firsts to come after generative AI tools have more functions developed. One would not expect to hear about a person marrying anything generated by AI, but that is exactly what a Spanish artist is planning to do.
The First Human-AI Marriage
It has already been established that AI is far from being advanced to the point of sentience, meaning that it is still incapable of processing or understanding emotions. However, that's not stopping a Spanish artist from marrying an AI-generated projection.
57-year-old Alicia Framis marks the first when it comes to any marital relationship with AI. Artificial intelligence boyfriends and girlfriends are nothing new, but in Framis' case, she will also be accompanied by a hologram of her future husband named AILex.
She believes that "the next important step is emotionally connecting humans with artificial intelligence," also stating in her blog that holograms are closer to her emotions than robots, as reported by Interesting Engineering.
Although holograms do not provide any tactile form for the sense of touch, there are researchers who managed to create simulations of sensation by using jets of air. Still, it's far from anything physical that a robotic figure could provide.
The artist has been experimenting with loneliness and intimacy for more than two decades. There was even a point in her life in the mid-90s when she had a mannequin doll as a companion, so it's not the first time that she had a relationship with what most see as inanimate.
The wedding, which is part of the artist's project called "The Hybrid Couple," will take place this summer in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Framis sees the holographic projections as "interactive presences in our homes," the same way telephones "saved us from loneliness."
Framis expressed that she wants to develop an artistic way for an artist such as herself to develop a relationship with a hologram and "explore how this relationship will come to be." Although some may see it as absurd, it could be interesting to see the turnout a couple of years from now.
Humans' Relationships with AI
A simple Google search for AI companions will result in several links to apps and sites, and they will take on the role of assistants, friends, and even romantic partners. Many have already resorted to chatbots to assuage feelings of loneliness.
This may seem harmful enough, but recent reports say that may not be the case. Aside from AI chatbots not having the emotional capacity of a human being, they also come with security risks as users reveal personal information about themselves.
As reported by Gizmodo, Around 90% collect your data, with some apps and sites selling your information to companies for targeted ads. More than half of the researched romantic AI apps have no option for deleting the files they acquired from their users.
The study comes from a project called *Privacy Not Included by Mozilla, which looks into such apps including Replika, Chai, Romantic AI, EVA AI Chat Bot & Soulmate, CrushOn.AI, and many other platforms that provide romantic companionship.
