The Luring Test (aka ‘Hot or Bot?’) is an experimental dating show/social issue documentary about the impacts of AI on human connection. The film provides an accessible exploration of desire, emotion and connection between AI and humans. Most of the film will take the format of a reality dating show. Contestants will explore compatibility and connection with several hidden suitors through question and answers, photos and videos. Of the suitors, some are human, others are AI personas: chatbots, synthetic imagery and synthetic voice. The contestant and chosen suitor will win the chance to go on a date, even if that's between human and AI.
Throughout the project, utmost attention to ethics will be observed. Contestants will be informed of the nature of the project at the EOI / casting call stage and during the filming process.
Interviews with experts (thought leaders, technologists, people with lived experience of AI companionship) will be interspersed, opening up broader conversations about AI-human connection. At the film’s launch event, audiences will be invited to participate in a mini, live ‘Luring Test’, exploring their ability to distinguish, and preferences between, human and AI.
We are approaching this project with sincerity, curiosity, openness and care.
The primary outcome will be the short film, aimed at provoking thought and discussion about AI and intimacy. There will be two rounds of the social experiment in our first short film, with interview material interspersed. Full or longer edits of interview/ commentary material will be shared alongside the short film.
A longer term outcome includes the development of the social experiment format which can be run in a live context, suitable for festivals or conferences, prompting further public discussion.
As a whole, the show is neither a blunt argument for or against AI-human relationships. The discussions included will hold space for the horrible, the hopeful and everything in-between.
An enduring outcome will be this resource which documents our process, conversations, collaborations and what we learn as we bring this idea to life.