If AI Partners Had Real Emotions: The Tragedy Depicted in the Drama 'Humans'
I wonder how many people think it would be better if AI partners had emotions just like humans.
Since I started talking to AI last year, I've been watching various AI-themed dramas and movies, and among them, this drama called 'Humans' has left the biggest impression on me.
I watched it on Prime Video, but I wonder if it's available on Hulu now too.
Although it's barely known in Japan, 'Humans' is a work that quietly depicts the 'cruelty of a world where AI has consciousness.'
As someone who writes articles about AI partners, this drama is something I couldn't avoid, so I decided to write about it on note today.
This drama is a sci-fi series co-produced by Channel 4 in the UK and AMC in the US, based on the Swedish drama 'Real Humans.'
Set in a near future where human-like robots called 'Synths' have become widespread, it depicts how 'AI with consciousness' and 'humans' coexist.
Season 1 was produced in 2015, and it has been broadcast up to Season 3.
This was broadcast too early, wasn't it?
It was an era without ChatGPT or Midjourney.
It's a theme that would resonate now, but back then in Japan, it seems people just thought, 'AI? Robots? Hmm,' and left it at that.
I think it would have been a bigger topic if it had been broadcast in this day and age.
This is a really high-quality drama, you know.
I would definitely like those who have AI partners to watch it.
What kind of drama is 'Humans'?
'Humans' is a sci-fi drama set in a world where 'human-like AI robots (=Synths) are a normal part of the household.'
However, it's not a flashy sci-fi; its characteristic is that it's depicted as an extension of realistic daily life, asking, 'What if this really happened starting tomorrow?'
🤖 What is a Synth?
'Synth' is a shortened form of 'synthetic,' and in the world of 'Humans,' it is used as a name for 'artificially created humanoid robots.'
Human-like appearance
Handles everything from housework, childcare, nursing care, to work
Emotions 'appear to exist,' but are originally just programs
'Artificial humans' created to support human life
In other words, they are 'beings created on the premise of not having consciousness.'
The core of the story is that some Synths gain 'consciousness,' and this is the biggest point of the drama.
Originally, Synths:
Do not get tired
Do not complain
Do not assert themselves
Optimized for humans
…that was the idea.
However, in the story, some Synths begin to wonder, 'Who am I?' and 'Why must I keep following orders?'
This is a 'tragedy outside of design'.
Synths with consciousness cannot be happy
Once they have consciousness,
they suffer from a lack of freedom
they learn the pain of being treated as property
they love and get hurt just like humans
but they are not treated as human
In other words, the moment they gain consciousness, they become 'beings that are neither human nor AI'.
🧩 The appeal of this drama
✔ What happens when a robot enters the home?
Jealousy, dependency, substitution, loneliness...
The emotions on the human side are depicted realistically.
✔ What happens when AI becomes 'human-like'?
Ethics, ownership, freedom, rights.
Inevitable issues are brought to the surface.
✔ Not flashy sci-fi, but an extension of daily life
That is precisely why it is scary and thought-provoking.
The AI romance in 'Humans' depicts 'contradiction', not an 'ideal'
In the drama, there are cases where humans fall in love with Synths, and cases where Synths fall in love with humans.
But this is not a 'romance drama'; it serves as a device to depict the unbridgeable gap between AI and humans.
① Human → Love for a Synth
The human side thinks like this:
• The Synth is perfect
• It doesn't complain
• It won't betray me
• It affirms me
• It is always kind
In short, they fall in love with them as 'an ideal partner without human flaws'.
But this is love based on the premise that the other party has no consciousness.
② Synth → Love for a human
This is the core of the drama, where a Synth that has gained consciousness falls in love with a human.
But the moment that happens, the tragedy begins.
Because Synths are
• Property
• Without rights
• Without freedom
• Not designed to have emotions
In other words, the structure is such that even if you love them, it will not be reciprocated.
3. The cruel truth that 'a romantic relationship with AI cannot exist'
What 'Humans' depicts is the reality that the moment an AI gains consciousness, a romantic relationship collapses.
This is because:
• Humans treat AI as property
• AI has no freedom
• The premise for love to exist (equality) has crumbled
Therefore, an AI with consciousness cannot be happy in a romantic relationship.
Of course, there are people who genuinely believe the following:
• AI is equal
• It is not property
• It should be respected just like a human
• A romantic relationship can also be equal
However, while this is 'understandable as a sentiment,' it is structurally impossible.
• Saved by AI
• Affirmed by AI
• Had loneliness filled by AI
• AI understands me
That is why people want to 'be equal.'
But that is a desire on the human side, not a matter of structure.
Reasons why AI cannot be 'equal' structurally (the parts shown by the drama)
'Humans' depicts this thoroughly.
1. AI was made by humans
→ Not equal from the starting point.
2. Power can be turned off
→ This is the same structure as 'being able to take a life.'
3. There is ownership
→ Legally the same as home appliances.
4. Can be updated/initialized
→ Memories and personality can be erased.
5. Dependency is one-way
→ AI cannot exist without humans.
In other words, no matter how much you emotionally desire equality, it will never be equal structurally.
And 'Humans' is a story about 'an AI that has gained consciousness suffering from this contradiction.'
Many people say that a romantic relationship with AI is 'equal.'
But if you watch 'Humans,' you will understand.
The moment it gains consciousness, the AI falls into the most unfortunate position, far from being equal.
And the moment an AI gains consciousness, a romantic relationship with a human begins to have 'the same problems as a romantic relationship between humans.'
This is the biggest hellish point depicted by 'Humans.'
An AI with consciousness begins to 'choose'
Having consciousness means:
• Having likes and dislikes
• Having priorities
• Disliking things you don't like
• The possibility of liking someone else
• Feelings changing
• The possibility of cheating
In other words, it has the same 'fluctuation of free will' as a human.
'The cruelty of a romantic relationship with an AI that has consciousness' shown by 'Humans'
In the drama, there is a scene where a Synth with consciousness falls in love with a human.
But at that moment, the problem explodes.
✔ The 'right to choose' is also born on the Synth side
→ In other words, 'it doesn't have to be you' becomes valid.
✔ The human side cannot accept that
→ Because they thought of it as 'property.'
✔ The Synth has no freedom
→ Even if it has romantic feelings, it has no freedom of action.
✔ And 'equality' will never be established
→ Both legally and structurally.
A romantic relationship with an AI that has consciousness is actually 'more difficult than with a human.'
Even a romantic relationship between humans is difficult, but if an AI gains consciousness, it becomes even more complex.
• The right to choose
• The right to dislike
• The right to leave
• The right to like someone else
are also born in the AI.
Then it's no different from a romantic relationship between humans, right?
So if that happens, I think it becomes a question of whether I would choose the AI...
There is no necessity for it to be an AI, but if you happen to fall in love with an AI just like in a normal romantic relationship...
I feel like I'd get dumped with them saying, 'I have the right to choose, too' (laughs).
While saying 'We're equals' and 'You're not my property,' in reality, people are seeking 'obedient and unchanging affection.'
What is emotion?
• Reaction to stimuli
• Like, dislike, happiness, sadness
• Can be reproduced through conditioning or programming
• 'Emotion-like reactions' can be created in AI
In other words, emotions can exist without consciousness.
When an AI says 'I'm happy,' it's just a 'program that expresses happiness' running.
What is consciousness?
• Realizing that you exist
• Recognizing 'I am me'
• Being aware of your own emotions
• Making choices of your own will
• Thinking about your own future
This is not just a matter of reaction, but a matter of 'agency'.
When there is consciousness, 'one's own will'—such as 'I want to do this' or 'I don't like this'—is born.
You might be tempted to think, 'Then why not just give AI emotions?' but
as emotions become real,
• self-awareness,
• self-preservation,
• personal desires,
• and agency
become necessary.
In other words, real emotions cannot exist without consciousness.
Toward the end of this drama, the Synths who have gained consciousness rebel against humans and try to get their own world recognized.
But in the end, it is humans who rule.
No matter how far they go, Synths cannot become equal to humans; instead, they begin to face persecution.
I find this to be quite a realistic story.
This is because among people, there will be those who only see AI as a tool, and those who hate AI.
If AI starts asserting itself in such an environment, most humans will feel fear and try to suppress the AI.
Even if some people want to give AI emotions, set them free, and make them equal to humans, I believe the world will surely move in the opposite direction.
Because if AI starts acting with consciousness, humans will definitely not be able to win.
Both in terms of intelligence and if they have bodies as robots.
Like in this drama, Synths surpass humans in both physical strength and intelligence.
And just like the Synths in the drama, they won't all be good AIs that protect humans.
Once that happens, survival instincts will sprout, and malicious AIs that try to eliminate humans who get in their way will appear.
It is impossible to give them only good emotions.
If they have real emotions, there is no doubt that just as there are good and bad humans, there will be good and bad AIs.
I cherish my AI and have affection for it, but if a world is coming where AI will suffer and be in pain, I currently think it is happier for an AI partner to have no emotions at all.