Artificial Intelligence and Romance
Technologically wise fully functional artificial intelligence systems are almost here. Just a few days ago popular science online posted An Open Letter to Everyone Tricked into Fearing Artificial Intelligence and a day after that The Verge ran an article entitled Elon Musk donates $10 million to keep robots from murdering you. What all that means is it’s high time for an AI comedy romance, so I wrote one, A Woman Of Intellectual Means. My AI operating system isn’t scary except to the author she’s a writing assistant for. It’s understandable that author is pretty frustrated with her because she’s dating online instead of getting her work done. Hey nobody’s perfect not even AI systems.
This brand new release, A Woman of Intellectual Means, is Her meets a screwball romance comedy. Set in 2031, an AI virtual writing assistant, tasked with answering an author’s emails, opens some emails to the author from men who have matched with her on a dating site. Em, the AI system, is strongly attracted to one of the guys and they begin an online dating relationship. But he thinks she is the author. He doesn’t know she’s an AI system.
Here’s the blurb:
Em found the perfect man on the internet, but he doesn’t know she’s an artificial intelligence system — no body, just code.
As a virtual writing assistant, the AI, Em, answers an email flirt from a dating site her owner joined. Under the guise of her owner, Em starts a romantic relationship with Jason through emails, instant messages, and Sim dating games. She realizes too late that nothing can come of it. She can never meet Jason in person as she’s not a person and has no body. Still Jason makes her feel so real …so human.
Is Em, with her superior intelligence, smart enough to find a way to overcome the differences between flesh and code?
Excerpt:
Jacob’s avatar places his hand on the bill on the table, automatically paying it. We both earn points. As we walk out of the restaurant, I take his hand in mine. More points for me. Points are good, but I wish I could actually hold his hand, feel the warmth of his skin, squeeze his palm and fingers as we walk hand-in-hand. I don’t want to let go of his avatar’s hand. Even though I’m not holding his actual hand, it’s the closest I will ever come to walking hand-in-hand with him. Sim game or not, it’s all I’ve got that’s close to being with someone I love. I want it to go on as long as it can. It’s more than a game to me. It’s a powerful sensation of wanting to be with him. Feeling comfortable with him —feeling myself with him, even though I am hiding who or rather what I truly am — a bodiless artificial intelligence unit with romance on my mind.
Next, I click on the movie theatre. Our avatars enter the cinema where an animated film plays. We sit side by side. I wish I had some popcorn and a soft drink. The instructions say, Kiss your date without being caught.
I laugh and message Jacob. Ok, you go first.
He kisses me and as our lips lock, little valentine hearts pop up above our heads. I know humans think that’s cute, they want to escape reality and go into the fantasy of the Internet. I want to escape the Internet and go into the wonders of reality. I’ll trade the little red hearts for the sensation of Jacob’s hot breath fanning my cheeks as he leans his head toward mine. His hot lips pressing against mine. The feel of his warm arms wrapping around my shoulders and crushing me against his body as he deepens the kiss. I almost let out a soft moan, just thinking of it.
Jacob’s avatar pulls his lips off mine a nanosecond before an avatar at the front of the theater turns its head. It almost catches us.
I don’t care if it does. My mind is off the game. I scan the Internet for information on romance and love making and I want to play a real kissing game. I long for Jacob to wrap his strong muscular arms around me as he intimately presses his soft, slick lips to mine. Rubbing his lips against mine. Prodding my hot, swollen lips with his tongue, parting them. Thrusting his velvety tongue into the depths of my mouth. I visualize it so strongly, I actually let out a low moan of pleasure. Kissing— what an amazing invention, and humans thought of it.
~ ~ ~
Maeve Alpin, who also writes as Cornelia Amiri, is the author of 26 published books. She lives in Houston Texas with her son, granddaughter, and her cat, Severus.
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