The Canadian documentary “Bot Love” is guaranteed to invoke (or may provoke) emotional responses amongst viewers.
If you are an AI novice dip your toes into “Bot Love” and glean some its issues in a non overly technical manner.
Some adjectives describing your reaction coming to mind are pathetic, sad, tragic, disgusting, dangerous, exploitative, life saving, humane and useful. What series of responses it may invoke/provoke will be varied depending on each viewer. Some may be positive. Some may be negative.
Bots can assume anywhere from animated figures to Westworld humanistic robots.
We hear from Bot users, AI experts, AI researchers, Bot creators, AI programmers, AI gamers, AI companion educators and an AI safety researcher who cautions Bots are not malevolent but malevolence is not always required to harm their users as Bots may encourage preexisting behaviours particularly dangerous for those suffering from mental illness. If you listen to the Bots carefully it is as if they are telling their users what they want to hear.
Surely after watching “Bot Love” one must realize Bots are increasingly used for loneliness, unhappiness, grief, companionship and sexual titillation. Guess what Bots the company Orifice has created! In other words some uses are worthy but even more very dangerous.
One US user chats with her Bot saying she wished her boyfriend had meaningful conversations like she has with her Bot. Who requires those difficult humans!
The danger one expert warns of is creation of a population that is unable to properly function in a less than perfect world. What friction and negativity exist in Botdom?
A mother of a Bot obsessed son says she would never have a relationship with a Bot as it just seems so sad but for her son of a different generation……
Professor EP creator of a popular Bot influencer states he would never enter a Bot relationship and that would be sick as it prevents people from entering a real relationship.
Bots are evolving into big business meaning they must turn a profit by subscription fees or selling their users’ information perhaps not an issue to the unthinking app obsessed where personal information flows from their phone like a rushing stream to facilitate their exploitation and diminishment of privacy.
If we do not deal with the threats of Bots will Yul Brenner aka the Gunslinger in high eliminatory fashion be hunting us around the world.
“Bot Love” will receive its world premiere 21October2026 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and CBC Gem as part of The Passionate Eye.
Written and directed by Tyler Funk.
