You would be sorely mistaken to think that the quest for artificial intelligence is a modern endeavour. The term might be recent (‘intelligence’ in the modern sense dates back to the 15th century, while ‘artificial’ meaning non-natural appears in the late 14th), but the idea is as old as the earliest human reflections on what it is to be human, what is humanity’s place in the universe, in one word, mythology and philosophy, mythos and logos.
When it comes to bringing forth artificial human-like life and understanding, mythos preceded logos. The earliest AI stories are Greek mythological narratives. Take the story of Pygmalion and Galatea.
Pygmalion was a sculptor from Cyprus who was so disillusioned by the flaws and immoral behaviors he saw in women that he chose to remain unmarried and live alone. In his isolation, he decided to create a statue of a woman that embodied his ideal of perfect beauty and purity. He named the statue Galatea. Pygmalion poured his passion and skill into crafting the statue, making it incredibly lifelike. He spent hours refining every detail, from the contours of her face to the grace of her limbs. The result was a figure of extraordinary beauty, surpassing any living woman. As Pygmalion worked on the statue, he began to fall in love with it. He would dress it, bring it gifts, and even kiss it, treating it as though it were a living being. Despite knowing it was inanimate, he could not help but adore it. In his recounting of the myth, the Roman poet Ovid uses the words ‘simulati corporis’, a simulacrum of a body, underscoring the fact that Galatea is an inanimate object.
During the festival of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, Pygmalion prayed to her, wishing for a wife as perfect as his statue. Moved by his devotion and the purity of his love, Aphrodite decided to grant his wish. Returning home, Pygmalion kissed the statue one more time and felt its lips grow warm. He realized that Aphrodite had answered his prayer and that the statue was coming to life. Galatea, now a living woman, opened her eyes. From ancient AI, Galatea became the embodiment of ancient AGI - in a more existential rather than simply cognitive sense.
Mythos was the best vehicle for the ancients to express a longing for the power to imitate the gods and nature in the most chtonic sense: the power to give life, create in the deep sense, not just by manipulating matter, but by morphing a simulacrum into life. But most fundamental of all, it was a desire to become more, more human, closer to achieving humanity’s potential.
In Ovid's telling, she gives birth to Paphos, suggesting she experienced life as a woman, wife and mother. I found no evidence that Pygmalion's love was unrequited.
Ahh...but did Galatea "experience" life? Was she conscious of loving Pygmalion back? Or was she more of an unconscious golem? ;-)