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Michael and Michael are thankful for the chance to bring you your weekly dose of Games At Work, and start off this episode re-exploring a topic covered back in episode 159, this time with a wedding-themed twist.  The Esquire article presents an intriguing dilemma — can/should a human marry an artificial intelligence?  Vinclu’s Gatebox product with the AI attracted Michael & Michael’s attention a while ago, and in the case of Akihiko Kondo-san’s case, he was so attracted that he married the Gatebox AI version of a computer-generated Hatsune Miku.  Apparently Kondo-san is not alone — Gatebox has issued over 3,700 marriage certificates for what they are calling ‘cross-dimensional’ nuptials.  While many are accustomed to asking their personal assistant AIs to control their lights, set alarms and play music, the personification of the AI in human form, although projected in a MacPro-esque canister, lends a further aura of reality to this assistant.  Gatebox does not limit the communication of their AI only to the holographic character, the AI also interacts with the owner via text, and more.  Intriguingly, one can easily imagine the AI having a VR/AR/MR presence in the near future, yielding even more realistic engagement with the owner.  

Michael and Michael talk about other ways that the experiences from virtual worlds could be applied to such corporally-personified AIs, such as a subscription model, where one purchases a time-based contract with the AI company, virtual gifts that could be given to the AI, or to friend’s AIs, as well as legal questions around property rights and more.  Certainly a space to watch for the near future!

Speaking of the future, the co-hosts discuss a couple of companies that have specialized in creating chatbots to converse with the dearly departed, and how the AI powering those chatbots can be trained before you pass away.  The article brings up a number of challenges that this capability introduces, from what you entrust to the database, and what might be shared with whom after you pass away, to what age you want to be immortalized.

There’s more to this Thanksgiving episode — have a look at the links below to get a taste & have a listen!  

Selected Links

Esquire article: Single? Consider a Cross-Dimensional (Human-Hologram) Marriage — https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a25018920/japan-married-hologram-gatebox/ 

Business Insider article: Japan’s $2,700 answer to the Amazon Echo could make the country’s sex crisis even worse — https://www.businessinsider.com/gatebox-ai-the-japanese-amazon-echo-photos-2016-12 

Gatebox with Hatsune Miku — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3mJcclRoOo 

Gatebox by Vinclu — https://gatebox.ai/home/ 

Games at Work episode 159 — Virtually Secure — example of Gatebox — http://gamesatwork.biz/2017/01/22/episode-159-virtually-secure/ 

Apple’s MacPro — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Pro 

Business Insider article: These 2 tech founders lost their friends in tragic accidents. Now they’ve built AI chatbots to give people life after death —