More than pets and less than lovers

– What are the AI robots that young people want? –

Introduction

 “Alexa, wake me up at 7:30 tomorrow” This informant is Sakura (pseudonym), a third-year university student at a private university in Tokyo. Sakura has several AI appliances in her home, and she says she often communicates with Alexa in particular on a daily basis. However, when I asked her about its responsiveness, she said, “Yes, but it’s a little unresponsive. It’s a bit silly. It can put on an alarm or turn off the TV, but it can’t respond to more complicated situations.” She added that she did not expect Alexa to be responsive in some situations. However, my impression from the interview was that she regards Alexa as a kind of pet, and the interview made me feel that the relationship between Sakura and Alexa may be the future of our coexistence with AI robots. What are her impressions of AI and what is her vision of the future society? 

Here is the actual illustration of her vision of the year 2050 that Sakura drew for me. She told us that she has a worldview similar to that of “Back to the Future”. It was very impressive to hear her talk about a world where cars fly in the sky, skyscrapers stand side by side, and human mobility has become less wasteful. In terms of her ideal vision of society, she said that she would like to see a society in which people do not have to do housework, and that she would like to see AI technology such as Alexa, which she is currently using, become capable of handling a wider and deeper range of household tasks.

What do you think about AI?

What are your impressions of AI? There are many people who have a pessimistic impression of AI, such as “It’s a hot topic these days, but I don’t know what it actually means” or “I’m afraid that it will surpass humans in terms of capabilities”. At the same time, there are probably people who are looking forward to it as something that will revolutionize our lives and make them more convenient.

In my interview with Sakura, I found out that she has both pessimistic impressions and positive expectations. First of all, in terms of pessimistic impressions, she answered that the media work “AI Collapse” gave her the impression of “fear”. On the other hand, she is anticipating that our lives will become more automated and convenient, based on the fact that she actually uses AI appliances such as Alexa.

When I asked Sakura what kind of AI robot she would like to have, she replied that she would like a good-looking robot. When I asked her for details, she told me that in recent years, matching apps and love games have become commonplace, and that marriage is no longer the norm, and that she thinks there will be a future where the object of love will be an AI robot. Sakura is currently in a pet-like relationship with an AI robot like Alexa, but it was very impressive to hear her talk about how interesting it would be if the current AI robots could evolve further and play the role of a lover.

Conclusion

Sakura seemed to enjoy talking about the future of AI, but she also said that she is aware that her ideal image may have been greatly influenced by media such as movies and TV. In addition, she said that she would like there to be more opportunities to learn about AI in school education. I think the readers of this article may have come to this website with such thoughts in mind. Please take a look at the other contents! See you in the next article!