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Over 200 years ago, long before artificial intelligence or humanoid robotics went ahead with things, German author Eta Hoffmann warned us about their dangers.
His 1816 short story der Sandmann It is a Gothic story of obsession and delusion. It is definitely the earliest warning f story about falling in love with a machine and is based on many of your favorite sci-fi movies.
In this classic German romantic story, the main character, Natanael, is engrossed in Olympia, who looks like the beautiful, enigmatic daughter of a professor and a watchmaker.
She is quiet and calm, and always listens carefully. Natanael looks into her eyes and he gets engrossed in. He falls in deep love for her before discovering that she is an automaton. It discovers that this is a realistic mechanical doll created by the ominous inventors Coppola and Professor Sparanzani.
So what Natanael saw as he stared into Olympia's eyes was a reflection of his own eyes. That's the moment he fell in love. Not Olympia, but by himself.
der Sandmann Exploring themes of obsession, madness and eerieness (what Freud called later) Das Hehdeimliche – Yes, after My recent Carl Jung column I felt that Sigmund was also referring to it), and it had a major impact on later science fiction and psychological literature.
der Sandmann We predicted the AI dilemma over 200 years ago. Photo: Etta Hoffman
I suppose der Sandmann One of the most insightful portrayals of artificial intelligence written is that it was not about technology. It was about the tendency of humans to fall in love with our own image, projecting meaning into nothing, and being seduced by certainty and control.
der Sandmann It quietly shaped some of the most powerful contemporary works on AI and Human-Machine Entanglement. You can trace that DNA Blade Runner, Ex Machina, she, Westworldand Stepford's wife.
Even novels like Ishikawa Ishigogawa Clara and the sun And Philip K. Dick Does Androids dream of electric sheep? Revisit Hoffmann's core questions: What makes us human? Can the machine reflect us perfectly? And what happens when you like to reflect reality?
This makes it the artificial intelligence that we are today.
If used carelessly, AI tools can easily be flattering. They answer our questions, but only in the way we ask them. If you ask the wrong question, you will get the answer wrong (although I'm totally confident). Ask the main questions and it confirms your beliefs.
Echo chambers are no longer limited to social media. They creep deeper into our everyday lives.
Not only will the AI Echo Chamber be given a post alongside the Facebook or X worldview, but it also provides information that artificial intelligence sounds completely neutral, thus covering how much our questions reflect from the worldview from the start.
The risk is treating AI as a mirror and showing you alone. Learning how to treat AI as a lens will help you broaden your field of vision.
AI already shapes how we interpret the world, what we see, who we can trust, and how we define truth. It is important that we use it in a way that challenges assumptions rather than reinforce it. Otherwise, like Nathanael, we may one day wake up and find ourselves in love with the fantasies of our own work.
You've probably seen a news article where real people fell in love with their AI buddies, something we still laughed at when we still saw she. There should not be a shortage of such stories in the future.
Movie plot she It looks more and more realistic. Photo: Warner Bros.
When encouraging policy leaders and educators to promote AI literacy in schools, we want students to learn how AI works, what it is and isn't. How to use AI, but most importantly, you want students to be able to recognize the reflection of their eyes.
Simon Kuestenmacher is the co-founder of the demographic group. His columns, media commentary, Speaking in public It focuses on current sociodemographic trends and how these affect Australia. His podcast, Decoded demographicsExplore the world through a demographic lens. Follow SimonTwitter (x), FacebookorLinkedIn.
