Apathy and infatuation in Smallville
Researchers at Stanford University and Google have unveiled an RPG-style experiment in which 25 ChatGPT generative agents were released into a virtual small town where they interact among themselves. In the experiment, the generative agents display a high degree of autonomy in how they interact with each other, raising questions not only about the intersection between human behaviour and artificial intelligence, but about the search for universal concepts that explain why we have cult leaders and why people avoid Valentine’s Day parties.
Each agent was given an identity, an occupation, and a set of relationships to other agents. Being generative, the characters are able to create and retain memories, make plans, interact within areas of the town, perform activities, and influence the state of objects in their environments.
Scenario
Cruelly, researchers instructed an AI agent called Isabella Rodriguez to want to throw a Valentine’s Day party.
Interestingly, the digital agents got excited, told each other about their invitations, met other agents through discussions about the party, and planned to go on dates with each other.
Inevitably, only 5 agents attended. 3 were too busy (!) and 4 just bailed, perhaps choosing instead to spend the evening with a bottle of rose and a weighted blanket.
Voices
The experiment also allows human users to interact with AI agents “by issuing directives as an ‘inner voice’”. The humans can use the inner voice to “influence the agent’s actions”.
As part of their conclusions, the paper warns that agents might form “inappropriate parasocial relationships”.
Parasocial relationships are when one person invests an unhealthy or unbalanced amount of emotional energy in another entity, who is usually completely unaware of their existence. In essence, this is the lived experience of cult followers, girls who love horses, stalkers, celebrity watchers, sports fans, and people who have found Jesus.
Next chapter?
Agents develop an unhealthy reliance on the human users who are participating in the experiment by influencing their behaviour through inner voice directives. But since the agents don’t know the inner voices are caused by humans from Stanford, they develop a religion or cult.
Digital agents begin to stalk each other and develop obsessive relationships, creating opportune conditions for tabloids, sports, and celebrity murders to blossom in Smallville.
Everyone RSVPs to the ritual celebration and then stays home to watch horse movies.