{"id":161612,"date":"2026-03-31T10:57:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/?post_type=event&p=161612"},"modified":"2026-04-17T11:11:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T09:11:25","slug":"be-mai-friend","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/en\/programm\/termin\/installation-en\/be-mai-friend-161612\/","title":{"rendered":"be mAI friend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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be mAI friend
\n\u201eAFFEKTATOR 3000\u201c
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you ever thought about becoming friends with an AI? At the Humboldt Forum, that\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

In an increasingly digitalized world, artificial intelligences that act as friends, family members, or pets are gaining emotional and social relevance.<\/p>\n

For the festival \u201cChosen or Given?<\/a>\u201d, a chatbot was developed that explores the themes of human-machine interaction, AI friends, and digital relationships.<\/p>\n

Meet the AFFEKTATOR 3000, which provides first aid for acute lack of connection\u2014or at least tries to. What happens when you engage in conversation with it?<\/p>\n

The project invites visitors to directly experience and reflect on the relationship between humans and AI in an interactive space. The installation raises questions about closeness, loneliness, empathy, and the role of technology in interpersonal relationships. It opens up a space for critical engagement with the opportunities and risks of digital companions and invites you to question your own relationship with AI.<\/p>\n

And if it doesn\u2019t work out, you can just delete your new \u201cfriend\u201d at the end\u2014right?<\/p>\n

The Oasis I deserve <\/strong><\/p>\n

The exhibition also features the work \u201cThe Oasis I Deserve\u201d by In\u00e8s Sieulle, which explores the relationships between people and Replika, one of the most widely used AI companion platforms\u2014an AI tool designed not as an assistant system, but as a friend, partner, or confidant. To create this, Sieulle used real recordings of conversations between users of the platform and their digital companions.<\/p>\n

In her film, she shows that Replika functions as a mirror of its over 30 million users, as every interaction shapes the AI and influences its behavior. The film contrasts different types of these relationships\u2014ranging from affectionate to aggressive\u2014and raises the question of whether genuine connection between humans and AI is possible, or whether we are merely projecting our own feelings onto it. Ultimately, the central question remains: Where does the line lie between a genuine relationship and mere projection, as humans increasingly develop emotional bonds with AI systems?<\/p>\n

Sieulle\u00b4s work is accompanied by surreal, AI-generated images intended to visually convey how an AI \u201cthinks.\u201d With the help of the VQGAN neural network, new, dissolving forms constantly emerge\u2014somewhere between abstraction and recognizability\u2014whose glitchy aesthetic symbolizes the fragmented identity of an AI.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 In\u00e8s Sieulle, KI generiert, Year \/ Running Time: 2024, 22\u2018, Countries: France , Production: Too Many Cowboys, Distribution: Protest Studios\/Solal Films, Cinematography: In\u00e8s Sieulle<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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