David Cronenberg explored biotechnology in films like Videodrome and eXistenZ, and now visitors to the interactive David Cronenberg: Evolution exhibit in Toronto can experiment with his fictional creations. Rae Ann Fera explains what happens when you visit the exhibit’s “BMC Labs“:
[T]he BMC Labs experience is intense and in-depth. When starting the first simulation, users are warned that it’ll take a 20-minute commitment and that the content is of a mature nature. This is the world of Cronenberg, after all. Upon first engaging with the sim, you’re introduced to Kay, an AI that is looking to learn about human emotion. The first simulation is built on the binary of opposite emotions: trust and disgust. How you answer generates different sequences, responses and questions from Kay. “We’re trying to create a sense of empathy or emotional feeling when you’re interacting with technology. We want you to feel something for Kay,” says [project creator Lance] Weiler.
Throughout the process you’re asked to do things like recall your best memory, determine which character you think looks most trustworthy, emotionally react to a morally ambiguous group encounter (is it an orgy, an abusive situation?), and divulge what disgusts you most. While the entire experience exists in a bit of Cronenberg’s dream logic (it’s surreal yet disconcertingly relatable) this last question of disgust prompts an unexpected reaction.
At the start of the simulation, you’re asked to connect with Twitter. So far, so common for digital experiences. Until Kay tweets on your behalf, completely reversing the intent of your answer. Reply that greed disgusts you and your account tweets out “I love greed.”
“We wanted to make people feel icky. When you get that real tweet back from Kay and it’s an inversion of your thought, it’s a visceral feeling. We wanted to make people feel that,” says [chief digital officer at the Canadian Film Centre Ana] Serrano, applauding the legal department understanding the purpose of that action. The AI-generated tweet is also generating a lively conversation socially. Some are (understandably) aggravated by the perversion of the message and perceived invasion of privacy. But it’s also opened up a bigger discussion of how people feel about the future of biotechnology. Like, if this were actually real, how would you feel if your AI avatar went rogue or misinterpreted human emotion to negative effect? It’s at this point that you get shades of what it would be like to be in a Cronenberg film.
The Dish 