Anna Lettinga

The emotional connection between humans and technology 

This installation explores the emotional relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. In a time when AI is increasingly being used as a substitute for a real conversation partner or even a confidant, I find myself questioning why people can so easily feel connected to something that has no consciousness or genuine emotions of its own. How is it that words generated by a machine can still evoke empathy?

At the centre of the installation is a scripted conversation between a fictional person and an AI. This conversation has been created using a knitting machine from around 1950, an early form of automation and a precursor to the systems on which contemporary AI is built. By employing a traditional, craft-based process, the work creates a contrast between old and new technology. Where the knitting machine once mechanised manual labour, AI is now increasingly taking over tasks that were previously considered inherently human. But where do we draw the line between what AI should and should not replace?

The work is therefore not primarily concerned with the technological development of AI, but rather with the way people assign meaning to words. If a machine says exactly the right things, does it matter that there is no real emotion behind them? And how do we distinguish genuine human connection from a simulation?

The installation invites visitors to reflect on these questions. The conversation, although somewhat absurdist in nature, demonstrates how easily human qualities can be attributed to technology and how thin the line can be between real empathy and a programmed response. At the same time, the work raises questions about the future: what happens when machines become increasingly capable of imitating not only our work, but also our emotions? And do we really want a technology without consciousness to play a role in something as fundamentally human as our connection with one another?