Roberto
"Human beings have certain basic needs. We must have food, water, air, and shelter to survive. If any of these basic needs are unmet, humans cannot survive. " -- NASA and Jamestown Education Module
Unlike artificial intelligence, humans and animals share the primal urge to seek food and other forms of nutrition, driven by complex physiological and psychological mechanisms. What defines the essence of craving and hunger, and to what extent can they be replicated in non-biological entities such as programs?
Implementing the sense of hunger in a bot created by humans can be the start of a general discussion on the use of robots and artificial intelligence: Do non-creature entities have to show traits like hunger and other creatureness characteristics? Why does mankind feel the need to create machines that exhibit simulated emotions and desires? AI does not have the basic needs as humans do.
In Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, David is a robot that is programmed to eat, but is physically not able to. Spielberg suggests that this programming has been done not in order to fulfill biological needs, but also as a cultural and social activity deeply intertwined with human experience. By having David eat, the film symbolically underscores his desire to belong and be accepted as a member of the human family. It highlights his longing for love and connection, mirroring the human craving both physically and emotionally. Maybe the real hunger that A.I. can feel is the hunger for love.
Our project seeks to explore the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence by creating a program that exhibits simulated cravings akin to those experienced by living beings. The program, when deprived of virtual cookies, exhibits behavior resembling distress, manifesting as simulated tears or expressions of dissatisfaction. This simulation serves as a thought-provoking metaphor for the intrinsic nature of craving and hunger as distinctly human and animal characteristics.
Based at the entrance of the exposition hall, Roberto is an instant force to be reckoned with. His hunger is shown through the bar in the top of the screen. Once the bar passes a critical level, Roberto will start crying as a baby. Once someone in the room can't stand it anymore, or feels sorry for Roberto, they can come up to the screen. It can then be pleased by putting cookies in his mouth. Once he eats enough, his hunger will be stilled and Roberto will laugh like a baby.
The participants can then still their own hunger by taking a little snack next to the mouse!