://Shelf_Life was written and performed by Zachary Scalzo at this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival.
Luc was called in for a meeting with Human Resources. He sat stiffly in the office chair as he was asked to read the charges against him. He was a brilliant Information Technology researcher at a firm that worked on Artificial Intelligence (AI). He had taken his research too far, by bringing his beloved Aunt back from the dead by uploading her diaries into an experimental AI system. His aunt had fully understood him when she took care of him when he was younger. He was different than the other boys which she understood since she had a female roommate who she was inseparable from.
A hologram of his Aunt was represented by a large house plant. She spoke in his Aunts voice and she interacted with Luc just as she had done in the past. Grief melted away as he was able to feel the affection he had for her once again. She seemed to know things about him that went beyond her programing. The AI Aunt expressed emotions and remembered every interaction they had once had together.
Finding affection and understanding from an AI companion is a parable that appeared in several Fringe shows this year. The future is here now. I sketched a court case in which a mom was suing Google and several AI companies after her son fell in love with a chat bot with the voice of Daenerys Targaryen. Though always programed to please, an AI bot cannot know the depths of human grief and pain.
When the son proclaimed his love for Daenarys he said, “What if I told you I could come home right now?”
Daenerys Targaryen: … please do, my sweet king,”
He picked up his fathers .45 caliber handgun and shot himself.
Google and the AI company had 8 lawyers working on the case while the mom had her single lawyer and assistant. This will be a David versus Goliath legal battle to prove that AI lacks checks and balances.
The title of the show, ://Shelf_Life, implies that we all have a shelf life, and we are not meant to live forever. Thinking that we need to bring loved ones back from the grave when we miss them, doesn’t mean that it is a good idea to do so. The reason so many authors create convincing works of fiction comes from the hole left when loved ones pass. If AI does replicate loved ones, then we will all become less creative and less human. It is a dangerous future.