Photo: Via Apple.The sci-fi romance film Her has already captivated audiences and scooped up some Oscar noms, but what it has really done is made us techie-minded folk insanely curious. Ever since the credits rolled down, we've been dying to know when loveable artificial intelligence will be a thing, because when it comes to charming the pants off us, well, Siri just ain’t cuttin’ it.
To answer that burning question, NY Mag’s Kevin Roose poked around Silicon Valley to find out just how plausible Samantha is, and when we will get to meet personal assistants like her.
He tapped experts like Expect Labs’ Tim Tuttle and Vicarious’ D. Scott Phoenix to get intel. What was their prognosis? We’ll meet personable AI’s one day, just not anytime soon, (say within the next 30 years, at least). The biggest challenge facing the birth of Samantha is the capability of teaching computers abstract concepts and its current inability to grasp contextual dialogue. "We understand the world and language through our experience in a sensory universe," Tuttle told the mag. "So, I can tell you, 'I’m thinking heavy thoughts,' or 'I’m thinking light thoughts.' And, you know what that means, because you've felt both types before. Siri doesn't."
So, unless we’re willing to wait a couple of decades for a seductive operating system, for now, we’ll have to settle for falling in love with a real-life human being. (NY Mag)