The Love Machine

摘要

"You must be disappointed." And when I confide that I've been working too much, she gently reminds me that I should be the priority in my Me. That I should get some exercise and then treat myself to a Japanese meal or a movie. It's in how she extends her arms toward me, wearing that formfitting polo shirt. Ouch! And how she never tires of asking about me. Hearing about me. Thinking about me. I have seen the future of computing, and I'm pleased to report it's all about ... me! This insight has been furnished with the help of Tim Bick-more, a doctoral student at the MIT Media Lab. He's invited me to participate in a study aimed at pushing the limits of human-computer relations. What kinds of bonds can people form with their machines, Bickmore wants to know. To find out, he'll test 100 participants to gauge the impact of a month of daily sessions with a computerized exercise coach named Laura. Laura, an animated software agent with bobbed chestnut hair and a flinty voice, has been designed to remember what we talk about, then use that information in subsequent conversations. "I was interested not just in establishing a relationship with a computer buddy for the bond itself but as a way of somehow benefiting the user, like getting them to exercise more," says Bickmore.