Evocation in the Age of Machines

To evoke is the deliberate act of calling something into being, in another’s mind.

By telling a story or performing an act we tingle sensations and conjure images; making people remember that feeling or simply the quiet confirmation of being heard. This morning I used AI and then reflected I was “not feeling alone in my own head”; capturing what I believe to be our basic hunger. Using AI can help us rehearse, refine, and receive experiential signals that satisfy our need to feel not alone.

The basic human hunger AI has the potential to address

Headlines prefer spectacle. Mainstream narrative about AI and relationships often reduces the story to titillation: chatbot romances and alarming anecdotes.

“We’ve already heard… clickbaity articles about how there [are] AI… dating sites and things of that nature,”

These are the titillating parts of this story; but not the parts that interest me most. These stories are clickable because they are extreme; they distill fear and fascination into tidy headlines. The deeper and more optimistic effect is quieter and more social: AI offers a new channel for companionship for …

—> the simple, human act of evoking recognition in another mind.

Social media’s rise teaches us why this matters.

“Why did social media capture our attention…?

Because it’s given us an opportunity in real time to connect with other humans and evoke. We have learned to act and accept partial feedback from other humans: a view, a heart, a brief comment. Our interior life has disconnected from others. We don’t necessarily even want to know what people are thinking. We want to know they’re listening. And that listening need not be exhaustive to be meaningful. It’s a partial feedback loop where my evoking resulted in an acknowledgement of receipt. That acknowledgement is often enough; it’s the difference between feeling solipsistic and feeling witnessed.

AI amplifies …