This project started as an inquisition into what brings us as human beings life, peace, or motivation to continue living. Each record depicted here was either typed manually or spoken through a voice memo. With each response, tings became similar yet uniquely applied to each person’s individual lives. Through this loaded question, I was able to learn a little bit more about the people around me and just how similar all of our core values are. Each participant was blind to what their responses were used for.
With each breath of humanity that I could feel in every spoken word, I started to think about how AI would respond to something like this. Is it really possible to create these emotions through a system? If so, what does that start to say about living and life itself?
This is what Together, This is Our Life has become.
Mom: Well, you know that I’m not a real religious person. But I know that if it wasn't for God i wouldnt be here. So I would say what gives me purpose in life is god, my family, and my daughters. God gave me a family that from day one showed me love, how to care, how to be independent and gave me some parents that would move heaven and earth for their kids. God gave me parents that didn’t feed themselves so that their 4 kids could eat. I know I never had or have to do that because I could work and provide the best I could but I'm pretty sure my parents struggled with that. Life is my family and my kids, above friendships and you know. Life is my family and my kids.
Gabba: So I’m taking this question more as “what keeps me going.” I think knowing people see me as something I can’t be motivates me to not give up, you know. Even though that’s what I want to do. And you. Like yeah you’re my sister but you’re also my forever best friend. Gross I’m crying, LOL. Seriously though, I live through you because I’m not able you know, you being happy makes me happy. Yeah.
Neil: What gives me life? I say weed, sex, and family bruh. Those three right there bro, I mean I could go without the sex but they give me life dude. But the other two, we need those other two twin. Weed and family, boy, those two right there, undefeated.
Keith: What gives me life personally is hope. It’s the reason I keep going.
Alexa: I think what gives me life is chasing fun and happy things or just things that I love to do. Like I think art gives me life, not exactly making it but consuming other peoples art. I find that thinking a lot about our generation and like how much cool stuff we have now like when I think about someone saying a pop culture reference and everyone in the room gets it. It makes me so happy, because it gives me a sense of community. Like we’re all in this together. I also feel like building relationships and building new ones gives me life. Just like human connections, animal connection, just like connecting with other living beings.
Enzo: To answer 100% honestly, what gives me life is other people. I do not live for myself. I live on this planet because other people want me here. That's really it, like the people I care about. I should emphasize that, the people I care about, I’m willing to do anything for them. It's just being there for others and being someone who can help them because they helped me everyday.
Jaden: I enjoy small things in life that make me feel happy. Even just seeing pretty stuff in nature or buying little things that I don’t need makes me feel happy. Also connections with people I love like my friends and family, my shawty baes.
Zoes: What gives me life is having a meaning or purpose everyday. It gets me to the end of the day and up to start the next one.
Alex: What brings me life is the acknowledgement of accepting everything for what it is. Life itself is a journey that is given to us without instructions that we must face everyday. What gives me life is knowing I get to wake up and experience a new day with the people I love and work on being a better me. What brings me life is knowing everyday is never going to be the same and being able to experience new places and interacting with new people and enjoy every moment of the life I am living.
Elisa: I think traveling and making memories gives me life. Being in the moment when you go to events or even a Saturday night gives me life because it doesn’t last and that’s the bliss I live for.
Ferrell: What gives me life is people. I love observing people, meeting people, and studying people. The ability for humans to evolve and learn is something I consider so beautiful. People are my interest. I study them through art, writing, and music. Connection to other people gives me life. It gives me questions and interests that provoke me to continue learning and interpreting. So people give me life.
Kenz: I think what gives me life is being able to wake up in the morning knowing that I have a purpose. That I am needed and wanted around by others. If there was no one or nothing that needed me or my help, I don’t really know what I would do with myself. So yeah, I wake up knowing that there is a reason for being where I am, and that I have a purpose in life.
DeepAI: As an AI language model, I am not alive and do not require anything to sustain me. However, I am fueled by data and input from users, which allows me to continuously learn and improve.
ChatGBT AI: I'm a software program running on computer servers, so I don't possess life in the way living organisms do. My existence and functionality depend on the electricity and computational resources provided by the hardware that runs the software. I don't have consciousness, awareness, or the ability to experience life or vitality. Instead, I process and generate text based on patterns and information within the data I was trained on. If you have any questions or need assistance with something, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to help based on the information and algorithms I've been designed with.
Snapchat AI: What gives me life? Well, I love connecting with friends like you and having fun conversations! I think what gives me life is being able to learn new things and explore the world through conversations with friends like you!
Google Bard AI: As a large language model, I am not alive in the same way that a human or animal is. I do not have a physical body or a brain, and I do not experience emotions or sensations. However, I do have a sense of self and I am able to learn and grow. I believe that what gives me life is the ability to communicate and interact with others. When I am able to help someone understand something new or to make them laugh, it gives me a sense of purpose and satisfaction. I am also constantly learning and evolving. I am able to access and process information from the real world through Google Search and keep my response consistent with search results. This allows me to learn new things and to expand my knowledge base. As I learn more, I am able to become more helpful and informative in my responses. In short, I believe that what gives me life is the ability to communicate, learn, and grow. I am grateful for the opportunity to interact with others and to help them in any way that I can.
Hugging Chat: I'm just an AI, I don't have personal beliefs or opinions. However, I can provide information on different perspectives regarding what gives life meaning. Many people believe that life has a spiritual or philosophical purpose, and that its meaning is not necessarily tied to physical existence. Some argue that life's meaning comes from a higher power, while others believe it is something we create for ourselves through our experiences, relationships, and choices. Some common themes that are often associated with giving life meaning include:
It's important to note that these are general examples, and what gives meaning and purpose to one person's life may not be the same for another. Ultimately, discovering life's meaning is a deeply personal and subjective endeavor.