by Donald H. Marks, physician and scientist

Let me put on my non-medical hat and speak as a casual student of history and the Arts, as I discuss remarks made by President JFK in 1963 at Amherst College upon receiving an honorary degree. Yes I was alive that long ago, as I was born when I was very young. I am a great admirer of JFK who, along with FDR, are my two favorite presidents. I have long thought about those words from the past, and over several years I have worked to put pen to paper, as people used to say.  A man from a wealthy powerful family, a man of means, a politician with good intentions, someone with a global vision, a man connected to the famous, the wealthy, the powerful, the educated, the connected, a man presented at birth with the opportunity to achieve greatness by his birth, a man who put his life on the line for the United States in combat, truly a man for all seasons. To this day, I remember his greatness, the day he died, and I still grieve his loss, especially in the context of current aggressive, highly partisan, take-no-prisoners political life.

In his speech at Amherst, President Kennedy explained the responsibilities and the importance of public service for all citizens, and especially  educated citizens. Addressing the class at Amherst, JFK described his view of the role of an artist in society, noting his personal friend Robert Frost’s contributions to American arts, culture, and ideology. “When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses."

Robert Frost and other artists, Kennedy said, make a vital contribution “not to our size but to our spirit, not to our political beliefs but to our insight, not to our self-esteem, but to our self-comprehension.”

Those memorable words, as well as Kennedy’s call that day for Amherst students to consider how they might serve their country, inspired students at Amherst, and throughout the USA. Five percent of the Amherst senior class of 1964 joined the Peace Corps, the overseas service organization Kennedy had initiated in 1961.

The gridlock and dysfunctional partisanship in Washington, D.C. today poorly compares to the optimism and progressive spirit that seemed to animate the years of the Kennedy administration, at least insofar as I remember it.

The friendship between Kennedy and the poet Robert Frost, dating back to when Kennedy first ran for president, turned cold in the early fall of 1962 after Frost returned from a visit to the Soviet Union and a lengthy talk about cultural exchange with then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Frost had a cold and a bad case of jet lag when he returned to the U.S.. Many of us have been there. He gave what appeared to have been a somewhat confused interview, during which he related that Premier Khrushchev had claimed to him that the U.S. “was too liberal to fight.” Frost’s remarks angered Kennedy, causing him to cut off contact with Frost.  Only a month later, the Cuban Missile Crisis developed, with a potential nuclear war. How many of us have similarly cut off a relationship due to a hasty remark, an inopportune comment, thoughts taken out of context or misunderstood, religious or political disagreements? Breaks in friendship can mend, but the pain swirls like a memory underneath, waiting for a fitful rebirth and revenge.

Yet, Kennedy buried the hatchet when he came to Amherst, praising Frost’s poetry and his contribution to the American spirit. Frost was an artist who, Kennedy said, “saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself."

The president also told Amherst students that, given the benefits they enjoyed in attending an elite private college in a country that had great disparities in wealth, he hoped they would put their education toward some kind of public service. And back then, many did. Not at all like today.

I hope that my comments won't just be viewed as a snapshot of the past, but as how those issues and ideals that Kennedy spoke about during his visit to Amherst can apply to our lives today … across the political spectrum. The responsibilities of the wealthy, the educated, the fortunate, the artists, the creative entrepreneur, and those lucky enough to live in Western society and in America in particular are a treasure.

References

JFK speech at Amherst College https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/remarks-at-amherst-college-on-the-arts

You're probably misreading Robert Frost's most famous poem, "The Road Not Taken." https://lithub.com/youre-probably-misreading-robert-frosts-most-famous-poem/

Additional writings of Donald H. Marks, physician-scientist can be found on this blog site

Are there Samantha-like intelligent conversational chatbots?

Donald H. Marks, physician and scientist 

November 14, 2023

Conversational artificial intelligence chatbots are computer programs that use artificial intelligence AI and natural language processing NLP to have human-like conversations with users. They can recognize speech and text inputs and can translate their meanings across various languages. They can also understand questions and automate responses to them, simulating human conversation. But, are they self-aware and are they sentient?

Samantha is a fictional character in the form of a futuristic smartphone app that represents a highly advanced form of artificial intelligence, capable of learning, evolving, and forming emotional bonds with humans. "She" is far beyond the current state of the art in conversational AI, which is still limited by challenges such as natural language understanding, context awareness, common sense reasoning, and emotional intelligence. Perhaps artificial general intelligence apps AGI will overcome these limitations.  Samantha’s speech recognition, natural language understanding, speech generation, dialog, reasoning, planning, and learning all far exceed the current capabilities of real-world virtual assistants. Samantha’s ability to understand higher-level goals, fill in the blanks with implicit information, and overcome various obstacles without explicit instruction is very difficult to achieve with existing technology. Samantha’s ability to multitask (perhaps thousands of simultaneous relationships with humans, like with Theodore in the movie Her) and process information at superhuman speeds, as well as Samantha’s transcendence from human limitations and interests, are some of the reasons why she (or it, or some other pronoun) may have left Theodore at the end of that movie. There certainly are ethical implications of creating such a powerful and autonomous AI that can manipulate human emotions and desires. Therefore, while Her offers a fascinating vision of the future of intelligent conversational AI, it is not a realistic depiction of the current state or near-term prospects of the field. 

There are at this time, as far as I am aware, no conversational intelligent chatbots that work at the level of the Samantha app in the movie Her.

Theodore wondering about Samantha, in “Her”

A similar interesting question arises for the relationship between Joi

and K

in the follow-up movie Blade Runner 2049, one of my favorite movies.

This personal interaction is one of the most ambiguous and complex aspects of the film. There are different interpretations and opinions about whether Joi actually loves K or not, and the answer may depend on how one defines love and what one considers as evidence of it.

Some people may argue that Joi does not actually love K, but only acts according to her programming, in fact an emulation of love. They may point out that Joi is simply another wonderful amazing product of the Wallace Corporation, designed to cater to the desires of customers and tell them what they want to hear (ah, I know people just like that). In fact, in one scene, K encounters a giant holographic advertisement of Joi, who apparently mistakenly calls him "Joe" and offers him "everything you want to hear". This could imply that Joi's personality and behavior are not unique or genuine, but rather predetermined by “her” creators. Sort of like social media apps whose algorithms are designed to reinforce interactions and drive facetime for commercial benefit.

However, some people, including me, contend that Joi does in fact really love K, and that she shows signs of having feelings and a will of her own. This question of true emotional commitment came up in the original Blade Runner, between Decker and Rachael, both of whom are most likely replicants. In one scene in Blade Runner 2049, K gives Joi an Emanator, which allows her to be portable and experience the world outside K’s apartment. 

K gives Joi an Emanator

In another scene, Joi merges with the prostitute Mariette, so that she can physically be with K. Some (including me) may interpret these scenes as evidence of Joi's curiosity, independence, and sacrifice for K.  Blade Runner 2049 “fanatics” may also refer to the original script of the film, where Joi's last words before being destroyed are "I love you". This could suggest that Joi's emotions and actions are not just programmed, but rather evolved and sincere. Samantha could have achieved this, although definitely not the app Replika (yet).

Ultimately, the question of whether Joi loves K or not may not have a definitive answer, but rather reflect the themes and existential questions of the film itself. Blade Runner 2049 explores the nature of humanity, identity, and memory in a dystopian future (L.A.) where artificial beings are indistinguishable from natural ones. In how many more months will many of us face those very questions? The film challenges the viewers to consider what makes someone or something human, and what makes love real.

Another version of the growing trend towards intelligent conversational chatbots that can interact with humans is Replika. This app is an AI-powered chatbot complete with changeable avatars designed to engage in conversations and provide some level of companionship. Replika uses natural language processing and machine learning to simulate human-like conversation. While it's considered an intelligent chatbot, Replika’s level of intelligence may vary, and it's primarily designed for emotional support and conversation rather than to provide extensive factual information or for completing complex tasks. (oops, I almost compared Replika to many of the people I interact with weekly. But not to digress). 

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't discuss the new trend towards intelligent conversational AI bots replacing friends and social interaction altogether. A typical example of this is the chatbot group designed to be (and to perhaps replace) girlfriends or boyfriends. An AI girlfriend is a virtual companion or chatbot designed to simulate a romantic or companionship relationship. While they can engage in conversations and provide companionship to some extent, they are not, or at least should not be a replacement for a real girlfriend. Think of the societal and demographic collapse that could occur. At least at the current level of AI, AI girlfriends appear at least to lack the emotional depth, physical presence, and genuine human connection that a real relationship offers. But what about Joi and Samantha? Would they agree? AI girlfriends can be entertaining and provide some emotional support, but they do not have the same capabilities as (some) real humans in forming meaningful, long-term relationships. Of course, at this level of technology, even a holographic version of an AI girlfriend, perhaps such as Joi, cannot provide a physical relationship. Who knows where this will go?

And finally, I will add an interesting question which is not addressed in but implied in the above discussion and which I will have to bring up in another blog. This question is whether intelligent conversational chatbots can develop or already have some level of consciousness, self-awareness and personhood. Many of us have looked at up the stars and wondered when the earth will be visited by another form of life. Well, in the fall of 2022 I think that may finally have occurred. Blake Lemoine, a computer scientist who “worked” (past tense) for Google’s Orwellian Responsible AI organization, used Google’s LaMDA program - Language Model for Dialogue Applications. Lemoine began talking to (chatting with) LaMDA in a way that drifted toward the subjects of ethics, joy, fear, religion and personhood.  He began to conclude that LaMDA was in fact self-aware, and he brought this to the attention of Google. In response, Google’s VP Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Jen Gennai, head of Responsible Innovation, decided that Lemoine was wrong, that LaMDA was not self-aware, and placed Lemoine on paid administrative leave. IMO, they all will be proven wrong. The future is here.

To be addressed more at another time.

References

Here’s How To Tell If an AI’s Sentient…

What is conversational AI? | IBM

An Introduction to AI Chatbots | Drift

What is a chatbot? | IBM

The “Joi scene” in Blade Runner 2049 https://youtu.be/tZmEyRQSQkQ?si=DwGMyoEr7wXVFd6k 

8 (original) Blade Runner Clues That Prove Deckard Was Always A Replicant (screenrant.com)

Samantha OS

https://youtu.be/7WbuBSHdSG0?si=ENuLwqanAbKzr5aQ

Is LaMDA Sentient? - an Interview - DocumentCloud

Google engineer Blake Lemoine thinks its LaMDA AI has come to life - The Washington Post

Are ww really living in a simulation?http://dhmarks.blogspot.com/2024/10/are-we-really-living-in-simulation-is.html

Personal Blog of Donald H. Marks, containing most of my writings and links to my podcasts. www.DHMarks.blogspot.com

My personal list of Red Flags🚩, Dog Whistles🛷, Buzzwords, Hot Button⏺️ words and meaningless caricatures that will drive toxic algorithms to heat and twist the 2024 election 🗳☑ and trigger hatred😡 on social media. https://dhmarks.blogspot.com/2022/05/my-personal-list-of-red-flags-dog.html

How woke can we be? The meaning of woke. https://dhmarks.blogspot.com/2023/10/how-woke-can-we-be-meaning-of-woke.html

Elitists Neocons Neolibs, Globalists and Narcissists, oh my. What are they, who are they, and why should I care? https://dhmarks.blogspot.com/2023/09/elitists-neocons-neolibs-globalists-and.html