Takato Hondarenowned artificial intelligence researcher and co-founder of AI application development company Melonhas shared a surprising and moving story about how A breakup led him to become a leading professional in the field of artificial intelligence.
Through his account on X, Honda said: «At age 20, after the shock of a breakup, I programmed an AI to respond as my ex-girlfriend using the history of our LINE conversations. Ten years later, I’m an AI researcher».
The experience that Takato Honda lived at the age of 20 was the catalyst that prompted him to enter the world of artificial intelligence. After being rejected by his partner, Honda experienced a deep sense of loneliness. He recalled a class in which he had learned about creating chatbots and decided to apply that knowledge to create an AI that would imitate his ex-girlfriend, using over 10,000 messages from his LINE history.
Honda, who is now a doctor of engineering and teaches classes on AI at Sofia University, describes the process and mixed feelings that arose during the creation of this AI. «Honestly, it was disturbing. I felt like I had created a ‘sad monster’. Sometimes the AI gave incorrect answers, and other times it perfectly imitated my ex-girlfriend, which was painful.», Honda confessed.
Although the “ex-girlfriend AI” failed to fully reproduce the original interactions, the project sparked a passion for artificial intelligence in Honda that led him to earn his PhD and found his own AI application development company. His company, Melon, has been dedicated to innovating in the field, and its work has been widely recognized.
One question that many are asking is whether the “ex-girlfriend AI” still exists. Honda revealed that the original program is no longer working, but in an interview with ‘ABEMA Hills’, it has resurrected the project using current technologies. The result was surprising: the AI was capable of maintaining a conversation without problems, and Honda evaluated that it “captured the characteristics of the person, with a relaxed and expressive way of speaking.”
Despite the advances, Honda admits that AI is still a “sad monster.” «Although he looks very similar to the real person, there is always a feeling of strangeness that becomes more and more painful.», he explained.
- «An AI lover can be easily discarded and altered if you don’t like it. Basically, you can create a situation that suits you. Falling in love with something like that is like a drug. If you take refuge in it, it will say kind words to you. And someday, even if she starts saying incoherent things, you might believe it. This sounds like something from a manga. But one day it could become a reality and cause something big.».
- «If you created it with your ex-girlfriend’s data, of course it is difficult. If you still have feelings for her and she rejected you, the AI could reject you again. The more attached you are, the more likely you are to ask yourself ‘why isn’t it working the way I want?’ If the AI responds the same as your ex».
- «If AI technology continues to advance and the ‘ex-girlfriend AI’ gets closer and closer to the thinking of the real ex-girlfriend, wouldn’t she end up rejecting you again?».
- «I remember a mother with terminal cancer who left a video message for her son’s future wedding, which was shown years later at the royal wedding. It would be great to create something like that with AI.».
- «Your ex-girlfriend’s LINE chats are copyrighted. Isn’t it a problem to train an AI with them without permission? As long as the generated texts are not published, would it be okay? It worries me because there is a lot of debate lately about the unauthorized use of data to train AI».
- «Instead of an ex-girlfriend, if it had been a conversation with a deceased grandfather or grandmother, it would have been a more moving story».
- «This is an example of how realizing inner emptiness through trial and error can lead to something positive.».
- «In short, a girlfriend of convenience. If we avoid emotional negotiations with people, society could become dangerous».
- «It would have been cool if the story ended with ‘Then we got back together, and now she’s making fun of me for this AI’».
- «It’s impressive that I had 10,000 LINE messages to train the AI».
Fountain: Hachima Kikou
