Mark Zuckerberg has described a future in which AI will help you remember a friend’s birthday and assist you in sending a more personal greeting, updating you about things that have happened recently in your friend’s life, and so on. You can imagine the next natural step here.
So what’s the end goal? Increasing the efficiency with which we can have distant relationships disguised as something authentic? Working toward a mutual understanding that all of our interactions are likely automated from the other end?
He mentions that creators with limited time and attention could employ an AI proxy to interact with fans. Personally, I can’t imagine something I’d like to do LESS than talk with a language model distilled from someone whose art and personality I admire. An educator or scientific researcher, maybe, but certainly not someone creative.
My gut tells me that a fan writing a letter to Taylor Swift or Santa Claus isn’t motivated by getting an accurate answer to their burning questions. As humans, we have a desire to be seen and known by our idols.
Prepare for an even greater value to be placed on vulnerability and authenticity in art. Perhaps even a return to in-person shared experience. The search will be for anything that can only be achieved through human connection, and not easily delegated to LLMs.