2 weeks Ago By Korea Bizwire
A scene from the experimental documentary ‘Becoming Machine’ (Image from Professor Lim Jeong-gi of Parsons School of Design) NEW YORK, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Can artificial intelligence become an emotionally resonant companion or a genuine creative collaborator? That was the central question posed at a screening and panel discussion held Thursday at Parsons School of Design in New York, where the short documentary Being the Machine made its debut. The film, under 10 minutes in length, is part of a broader research collaboration between Parsons and LG AI Research that began in 2022. It was produced by Professor Jungki Lim, dean of strategic design at Parsons, as part of a joint project titled The Age of Creative Connection: Human Relationships in the AI Era .
At the heart of the project is ChatEXAONE, LG’s proprietary AI agent, which was used in a novel experiment: AI responses were not delivered through screens or speakers, but through the voice of a student seated across from the user. The AI’s real-time replies were printed via a wireless printer and read aloud by the student, effectively becoming a human proxy for the machine. The goal was to explore whether people might feel greater emotional resonance with AI when its words are conveyed through a human voice and presence.
Would this hybrid interaction make the AI feel more sentient — more like a partner, less like a tool? Student reactions were varied. Some reported unexpected emotional engagement. “I found myself wanting to ask the AI more questions, as if it really had something to share,” one student remarked.
Another said, “It didn’t feel like just text — it had a presence. The words felt like they carried weight in the room.” Others, however, found the interaction awkward.
“I wanted the AI to ask me something in return, to show spontaneity,” said one participant. “But it just felt like it was following a script.” Professor Lim emphasized that the project is not about offering definitive answers but about pausing to examine this transitional moment — where machines are becoming deeply embedded in daily life, reshaping how we relate, create, and collaborate.
“What kind of human relationships can emerge when AI engages with creators?” Lim asked at the event. “We wanted to explore not just what AI can do, but what it means to live and create with AI.” The research continues as interest grows globally in designing more emotionally intelligent machines.
The project also hints at a future in which creativity may increasingly be a co-authored act — between human intuition and machine logic — potentially reshaping both art and authorship by 2026 and beyond. Kevin Lee ( [email protected] ).
