Manic Pixie Dream Bots Are Waiting for Your Command
Pt 3: Hyper-real artificial love
Reminder: If you are looking for a small group setting to hold you to account and give you lots of practical tactics to get your book out into the world, my friend MeiMei Fox offers just that. Applications close Jan 28th.
Just ask Joaquin Phoenix, it’s easier to fall for a simulated relationship than you might think. He played the melancholic leading man, Theodore, in Her by Spike Jonze. Theodore fell madly in love with Samantha, an AI chatbot charmingly voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Who would “settle” for a ho-hum flesh and blood woman when you could have the perfection ScarlettSamanta℠ offers?
Men are now offered an onslaught of digital hyper-perfection. The artificial women are now for sale on every platform at every price level from free to thousands of dollars.
These bots are created by men, for men.
No actual women were harmed in the making of these, and they have no resemblance to women beyond their surface-level appearances. It’s no surprise to me as the vast majority of porn is made by men, for men.
As my friend David Swedlow says, “We must focus less on who is trying to deceive us and more on how we are desperate to be deceived.”
For the brave: a (hopefully) hilarious rant in response to the YouTube above that started as a Whatsapp voice note to our resident Lexicographical Whisperer, Ron Hogan, and turned into a 19-minute podcast. Fair warning, I had some THC in my system, so I’m on blast.
Bendigos from Oaxaca,
Cris and Team Dragon
P.S. This will be my last missive for a bit. I am going on a client retreat to LA and Anchorage for the next two weeks! I’ll see you when I see you.
Thank You Chris for sharing. I am always amazed when I use DALL.E to see the pics I end up with. By default, it starts with a pic based on a bro profile. When I ask for a female representation, I get big boobs, big hair, big lips, tight skirt and high heels. Then I go on to ask for female in pants hoping for less cliche, Nope still the same model just with tight pants this time. In desperation I ask for a female dressed professionally and I still have the same overtly sexualized body and face but this time in a tight pantsuit, glasses and a briefcase. I am appalled. Thank You very much for covering that topic. Your male perspective is much appreciated!! Good to know I am not insane ;))