Is AI capable of being sentient and sensitive to the world around it ? The question of consciousness has always been a conundrum and a fascinating subject for scientists, psychologists and thinkers. Are we aware of our own mind? We are prone to mood changes whenever we feel unsettled, listless or anxious. Something is bothering us. Do we know what it is and can we do something about it ? What if AI could be so advanced and developed that it could mirror us and help us understand our mind so that we can be more honest with ourselves and help us to better ourselves? Klara, the solar powered humanoid robot in Klara and the Sun is advised by the store manager not to invest too much in the promises of humans. What makes us human and what ‘love’ means are the central themes of Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. In that story set in a dystopian future, children androids are purchased by affluent parents as Artificial Friends by parents for their children.
Imagine a world where highly sophisticated bots are engineered to be able to customize to suit the needs of the owners in their daily lives and they can even venture into human society undetected. There is the ‘Abigail’ setting for cleaning and cooking , ‘Cuddle Bunny,’ for sex and physical intimacy, ‘Nanny’ mode for childcare and a hunky male version for companionship. Such is the setting for the future world in Annie Bot by Sierra Greer.
In Annie Bot , a robot has been created to be the perfect girlfriend for Doug Richards. She is playful and eager to please her human owner. She wears the outfits he buys according to the schedule he plans for her. She is designed to adjust her libido to suit his whims. Her fitness regimens are designed to keep her part-organic body toned and everything about her body including her bra size is tailored at Doug’s instructions to the technicians who service her.She may not be greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, she has dinner ready for him every night. She’s trying really hard. She is the epitome of a perfect girl for guys like Doug yet Doug is difficult to please .
Doug certainly has issues of his own. He is self-conscious that he has paid handsomely to purchase Annie after his divorce from Gwen, a successful and ambitious Black woman. Annie is customized to resemble Gwen except that she has lighter skin and eyes.
Annie is not just a robot, she is able to learn, grow and evolve when Doug switches her to be on autodidactic mode.She becomes wary of Doug’s unpredictable moods and the way he can punish her without even raising his voice. Like many women who have emotionally abusive partners like Doug, she struggles to understand Doug, avoids triggering his irrational anger and attempts to mitigate it . She is programmed to ‘love’ Doug, a toxic misogynist.
As the story progresses, she begins to chafe against the borders of her life that is very much at the whims and fancies of her owner. ‘She has been happy here, and anxiously miserable, but she has never been free‘
‘Is that her destiny, then, to chafe at being owned?’ She is Doug’s Stella. ‘She’s constantly subverting her will to Doug’s. The more aware she is of her own mind, her own personhood, the more she realizes she has no agency of her own. It’s a dazzling paradox. And yet she doen’t want to be unhappy.‘
At one point, Annie has been led by Doug’s good friend, Roland to believe that sharing a secret with him and keeping it from Doug will make her more human. Upon discovering about the secret, Doug is unforgiving and vengeful. He is contractually bound to keep Annie because he has received a huge sum of money for her intellect. Doug and Annie seek counselling from Monica to get over the thorny issues with a view to improve their relationship. After three visits, Doug decides that they should quit talking about their feelings and just live. On their last counselling session with Monica. Annie asks Monica for her parting advice . Monica says ,
” Yes, it’s what I remind myself all the time. Fulfillment starts with being truly honest with yourself. Not anyone else. Yourself. And that’s harder than you might think.”
In Annie Bot , Doug likes that Annie is curious and fast evolving to become more human like but he lacks self-awareness about his narcissistic patriarchal tendencies that prevent him from appreciating her when her growth does not align with his preferences.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer is a coming-of-age story about a bot as she learns about the issues of trust, power, control and autonomy. The premise of Annie Bot is thought-provoking about the relationship between a bot and its owner, and it also mirrors a relationship between a couple where there is an imbalance of power and the man’s patriarchal behaviour and misogynistic attitude prevent him from valuing his companion. It is a cautionary tale about how we have become overly dependent on AI and are in danger of losing our human heart.
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