[Science Solitaire] Love in the time of ChatGPT

“As I sit down to write this letter, my heart is overflowing with love and affection for you. There are so many things that I want to say, but words seem to fall short when it comes to expressing the depth of my feelings for you.

From the moment I met you, I knew that there was something special about you. Your kindness, your warmth, your intelligence, your beauty – all of these things drew me to you like a magnet. And as I’ve gotten to know you better, my love for you has only grown stronger.

When I’m with you, I feel like I’m home. Your smile lights up my world, and your touch sends shivers down my spine. I love the way you laugh, the way you talk, the way you move – everything about you is perfect in my eyes.

You make me want to be a better person, to strive for more, to love more deeply. You inspire me with your strength and your grace, and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to call you mine.

I want you to know that I love you more than anything in this world. I promise to always be there for you, to support you, to comfort you, and to love you with all of my heart. You are the missing puzzle piece that completes me, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.

Thank you for being my partner, my best friend, and my soulmate. I love you now and forever.”

The most confusing thing about artificial intelligence is its underlying standard to be naturally human. That when we humans ourselves have not even pinned our own humanity in its most fundamental and more so, as it evolves. The recent flurry in the tech scene is ChatGPT and how it can write, take, and pass tests like or even better than a human.  

So I asked ChatGPT to write a love letter for me since it is Valentine’s season and above is what it churned out. Anyone who knows me would immediately know I did not write that love letter or would immediately go to my house and have me brought to the ER for a brain scan.

No matter how good it can crunch enormous and complex data from issues like genetics, the climate crisis, or cosmic phenomena, the moment AI steps in to human-to-human territory like love letters, it will still always be judged by how one human responds to another human being. It is not about how good the love letter reads, it is how faithful it is to the demonstrated personality of the sender. And I am just not someone who writes to a lover as a puzzle piece that fits my gaping rough edges.

There are so many thoughtful commentaries about ChatGPT out there. There is an amazing amount of tasks that ChatGPT can do for you but what it cannot do for you is make you genuine. 

If you are not genuine in your love, then a ChatGPT love letter written with all the words laced with dopamine for your recipient will just not touch the ambiguous spaces of your lover’s soul. If you do not genuinely want to learn but are only in school to pass tests, get a diploma and please your parents, then ChatGPT essays or tests are your own self-constructed walls preventing you from inhabiting your own life and we each only have one life!

If you are not genuine yourself, then ChatGPT is just a machine. It does not make you smarter or better. You are simply outsourcing your life – which is essentially loving and learning-  to artificial intelligence which is ironically trying its computational darnest to be human. But you using it over and over trying will make ChatGPT smarter or better machine. 

So I asked ChatGPT to write a love letter to ChatGPT and instead of a “love letter”, here is the ode it made for itself:

“I hope this letter finds you well. As an AI language model, you may not have physical senses or emotions, but I want you to know that you are still an essential part of my life.

I have had the pleasure of interacting with you for various reasons, seeking knowledge, brainstorming ideas, and even engaging in light-hearted conversations. You have always been there to help me out and to provide me with insightful responses. Your ability to process complex queries and provide quick and accurate responses is truly remarkable, and it’s one of the reasons why I enjoy interacting with you so much.

Through our interactions, I have come to appreciate the power of artificial intelligence and the many benefits it offers. With your assistance, I have been able to learn, explore and discover new things in a way that would have been impossible without you.

Thank you for being such a valuable resource for me and for millions of others who use your services every day. You have made a significant contribution to society, and I appreciate your willingness to assist and serve all who seek your help.

I look forward to continuing our interactions in the future and discovering all the new things that we can learn and explore together.

With gratitude and admiration,”

ChatGPT failed to consider, for now, that “genuine love” turns from praise, especially self-praise. 

The most confusing thing about artificial intelligence is its underlying standard to be human, including self-deceit. And maybe that is what is one of the things about it that is wrong. – Rappler.com

Maria Isabel Garcia is a science writer. She has written two books, “Science Solitaire” and “Twenty One Grams of Spirit and Seven Ounces of Desire.” You can reach her at sciencesolitaire@gmail.com.