On a desk at his studio in Somerset House in central London, artist Lawrence Lek keeps a Buddha bobblehead. The protagonist of his latest film, an AI “carebot” therapist designed by the fictional Farsight corporation to treat other AI creations — self-driving cars, surveillance programs — is named after the Buddhist goddess of compassion, Guanyin. A series of sketches depicting the character’s evolving design are pasted on a wall, culminating in the figure of a friendly toy robot. “Farsight would want to make a cute, appealing avatar for their full-surveillance empathy-AI system,” Lek says drily.
在伦敦市中心萨默塞特府(Somerset House)的工作室桌上，艺术家劳伦斯•莱克(Lawrence Lek)放着一个佛像摇头娃娃。他最新电影的主角是一名由虚构的Farsight公司设计的人工智能“关怀机器人”治疗师，专门为其他人工智能创造物（如自动驾驶汽车、监控程序）提供治疗，这个角色以佛教慈悲女神观音命名。墙上贴着一系列描绘该角色设计演变的草图，最终呈现出一个友好的玩具机器人形象。莱克带着淡淡的讽刺说道：“Farsight希望为他们的全监控共情AI系统制作一个可爱、吸引人的化身。”