When we think of celebrities, we often think of our favorite characters from our favorite shows, and how they get paid very well to market or advertise certain products geared towards us, the consumer. However, we forget that celebrities work hard for a living just like we do, and they are human beings with their own opinions just like us, that don’t always come with a paid marketing price tag.
In recent years, artificial intelligence has divided Hollywood. Some celebrities have been for it, while others are opposed to it. Both sides have valid arguments and concerns, but for the sake of this blog, we will focus on the side that is for artificial intelligence, in particular, Reese Witherspoon.
Reese is well known for her roles in various popular movies such as ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ ‘Walk the Line,’ and ‘Legally Blonde,’ to name a few, her famous book club, her media company, and so much more from her career over the years. Despite all of her success, she has actually received a little Hollywood backlash in recent years from her stance on being pro artificial intelligence. Again, some people are giving pushback when it comes to artificial intelligence, while others are running with it and embracing that whether we all like it or night, artificial intelligence is the future and is here to stay.
Reese recently co-authored a book with Harlan Coben titled, ‘Gone Before Goodbye.’ In the book, the main character Maggie utilizes a grief bot her sister created to try and help Maggie cope with the loss of her late husband Marc, a heart surgeon who was tragically killed while he was on a humanitarian mission. The book further explores Reese’s real life stance on how we can all turn to artificial intelligence to explore deeper human emotions and bonds to help support one another. And she’s really onto something huge here.
The backlash seems to be coming from the same argument, that people who are for artificial intelligence are trying to replace real human experiences and bonds with that of artificial intelligence. That’s not what is trying to be conveyed however. What the supporters of artificial intelligence are trying to convince those opposed to it, is that where the human part reaches a limitation, artificial intelligence can continue to complete the rest. Instead of everyone being divided, why don’t we all come together as a whole and utilize how the human part and artificial intelligence part can work together to benefit us all? In grief and in life. In life and in death. In living legacies and nonliving legacies. We don’t have to choose one side or the other. Maybe it’s time we see how both interconnect and run with how they can help benefit people and the world and the future and the now.