Do We Really Need Samanthas?
The phrase ‘ the world is such a small place’ is so true when most of us have the same mutual ‘friends’. The mutual friends that I am talking about are the Siris and Alexas of the world which or rather who are quickly becoming a part of a lot of peoples’ daily routine. For most, they have grown to become a friend or a partner or like a fellow human being. These virtual assistants (especially the ones with the female voice) are designed to behave like a personal companion along with their other functionalities.
Multiple studies have shown that these virtual assistants are used for companionship and to combat loneliness. Fear of social exclusion and for the safety net of social belongingness people seek out for interactions, both human and anthropomorphic. Anthropomorphism is attributing human characteristics and feelings to non-human entities. It is not surprising for one to turn to Virtual Assistants (VAs) given the fact that we are a generation that is heavily driven by technology and the internet. When even the most extrovert groups of people might have started different relationships online, the ones who struggle with social interactions have a tendency to turn to the online world which is a more comfortable zone. There is a thin line between comfort and dependency. When a relationship between a human and an anthropomorphic device blurs the line between comfort and dependency, the relationship is something to be concerned about.
The lockdown phase of the pandemic has complicated this scenario further. Feelings of isolation and loneliness make people vulnerable and that makes them turn to technology. Apart from the various social networking platforms, research says that people seek comfort and friendship from their VAs. This is where it gets tricky. It is a fun way to pass time for some but some get deeply involved with their VAs to a point of dependency.
Let’s take two pop-culture examples to understand this. A video of Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh became viral recently where he was conversing with his VA, Alexa, and calling ‘her’ his love. This was a piece of fun and entertainment. Meanwhile, Spike Jonze’s movie ‘Her’ is an interesting yet slightly disturbing movie around the theme of a romantic relationship between a VA, Samantha, and a man, Theodore. As fictional as it might seem to a few of us, it is very much a reality for a sizable number of people around the world.
Let’s talk solutions. For the same, it is crucial that we figure out why VAs are a preferred companion when there are humans all around. One might argue that a lot of people are isolated because of the pandemic but we aren’t shy of technology that can connect people from anywhere. So why VAs? The primary reason why VAs are preferred companions is that they are good non-judgmental listeners which is hard to say for some human companions. Humans are subjective creatures with 50 shades of emotions which makes objectivity a challenging task. Challenging but not impossible. Empathy is one of the emotions that make each one human and that is needed the most, especially in such cases. Being empathetic to a fellow soul can make you think outside your shoes and that is what makes one a good listener. This is what people wish to achieve through VA companions. If empathy and open-mindedness can be cultivated in people then it is a constructive solution for dependency on VAs for companionship.
