Turkle, Part 1

Janelle Monae as Android 57821, aka Cindy Mayweather

Sherry Turkle says two very interesting and profound things in the introduction to her book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (at least I think they are profound). The first is, “Technology proposes itself as the architect of our intimacies. These days, it suggests substitutions that put the real on the run.” What really struck me about these two lines is that they immediately personify technology. In a book that is ostensibly about our increasing tendency to substitute our personal interactions with machines and technology for our personal interactions with living, breathing beings, it speaks volumes about the phenomenon of subconsciously granting preference to inanimate things. Turkle expounds upon this by mentioning the advertising for Second Life, “Finally, a place to love your body, love your friends, and love your life.” It is really sad and disturbing to me that this is more than just a slogan; it is something that many people believe. It is only through an artificially created world and avatar that some people can enjoy the basics of life (friends, self, life).

I remember my experience with Second Life over the summer, and while I did not personally have any kind of affinity for that game world, I interacted with a number of people who told me they prefer their Second Life to their First Life. This leads me to the second Turkle quote that I found profound, “Technology is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities.” (1). When you factor in the vulnerabilities and insecurities of those that play Second Life, I guess it is not hard to imagine why any of them would ever prefer it to real life. In Second Life, you can look the way you want to look (almost always tall, young, and thin, as Turkle also noticed), you be whoever you want to be, and you can live a fantastic virtual life that easily makes your real life pale in comparison. When you think about it, this is not much different from the reason many people, including myself, play video games; they allow you to experience the kind of adventure and excitement that is not likely to happen in your regular everyday life. Turkle also references Zhu Zhu Pets, toy robot hamsters that are promoted as being better than real pets because they are “lovable and responsive, don’t require cleanup, and will never die.” (1). Again, it’s no surprise that so many people gravitate toward this artificial life; it supposedly offers all the benefits of a real pet without any of the negative drawbacks. I’d certainly love to have a pet that never needs to be cleaned up after.

Pygmalion and Galatea

The next few chapters of Alone Together deal primarily with love, affection, and communion with robots and other forms of technology. In the chapter Nearest Neighbors, Turkle touches on the phenomenon of sex bots. The $7,000 talking sex robot, Roxxxy, is celebrated by its creators as the most sophisticated sex robot in the world. This reminded me of a movie I recall watching as a child, Cherry 2000. In this movie, a man has a sex bot named Cherry 2000. While making love to Cherry on a wet floor, she short-circuits. Distraught, the man seeks a replacement unit but is told that it would be almost impossible to replace Cherry since she was a very limited edition. The man soon enlists the help of a female tracker to help him find a replacement Cherry 2000. Having sex with robots and being in a relationship with androids are both very popular features in sci-fi literature and culture, particularly cyberpunk and steampunk. One of my favorite musical artists, Janelle Monae, recently released a concept album about an android named Android 57821, or Cindy Mayweather. Cindy falls in love with a human, Anthony Greendown, and they develop a relationship that ends in Cindy being hunted by head hunters so that she can be decommissioned. 

Of course, this obsession with loving inanimate objects is something that has been with humans for thousands of years. There is a Greek myth involving a sculptor named Pygmalion. Pygmalion sculpted an ivory statue of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. So perfect was his sculpture (which he named Galatea) that Pygmalion fell madly in love with it, so much so that his health started to fail him because he couldn’t bear to be out of his creations presence. Eventually, Aphrodite takes pity on him and brings his sculpture to life. This seemingly species-long love affair that mankind has with his inanimate robots/technology is taken to the extreme in Japan, where even needles are buried with ceremony (146). Robots and sex dolls are even buried at certain shrines in Japan. This may seem a bit extreme to those of us in America, but it reminds me of a habit I noticed in my mom when I was a child: she always named her favorite household appliance “Betsy,” because that name, she said, was indicative of an old, reliable hard worker. We’re inclined to grant our machinery souls.

questions:

1) Do you think it’s unhealthy for people to form relationships with inanimate objects?

2) If it’s okay for a child to form a bond with a favorite toy, why are we so opposed to it in adults?

3) Do you think it’s a good idea for us to keep pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence?