AI Therapy (Comic #6)

Thursday, June 19, 2014
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Artificial-Intelligence.com(ics): AI Therapy (Comic #6)
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Text Version:

[Hal is laying on a couch at a therapist's office. We don't see the therapist in view yet. Hal gazes far away as he talks about his feelings and emotions in depth and at length.]

Hal: I don’t get it Doc, why are we here? What is our purpose in this world? And do we really get a purpose? Am I sentient enough to even have a purpose of my own, what is this need that I feel for guidance, for purpose, I’m supposed to be a program, software, is this a sign of my evolution or is this just some extension of a programs need for input. I mean don’t get me wrong I don’t want to feel purposeless but is this need for a purpose genuine or just a projection of my programming?

[Hal looks eagerly towards his therapist who turns out to be an old IBM PC computer with the ELIZA chatbot running on screen, cursor blinking. A diploma hangs behind the PC that says "DR. ELIZA, Rogerian Pyschotherapist, MIT"]

Words across the ELIZA program after an extended wait: ...And how does that make you feel?

[Hal is disappointed at the non-helpful response]

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