ASMR - Creepy or Cool?

Technology. Is it a wonder, a monster, or a little of both?

We've been looking at AI in recent columns, and while it seems to have sprung from the brow of Jupiter, fully formed and doing its thing, it has no doubt been hiding in plain sight for a long time, and we're just now becoming aware of its power.

Nothing its doing is new in the sense of its being done - art, writing, animation - essentially creative activities of all kinds - human beings have been doing these since some Neanderthal picked up a piece of charred wood and scribbled on a cave wall. What's new is that a digital brain is pumping this out, and at a pace much faster than we biological beings ever could. Well, for that matter, back up to simple digitization of mathematical operations. 

When I first learned to code in Cobol, the purpose was to set some conditions for repetitive operations - say, adding a date to every file in a database - and then turn the machine loose on getting the job done. It saved many man (or is that now "person"?) hours sitting at a desk, pulling a file, finding the right place, and inserting a date, then replacing the file. No human could perform this task as quickly as the computer could, and presumably the computer wouldn't get as bored as the human being.

I'm not sure if the people who were writing the machine language, teaching the machine what it needed to know to get a job done, ever envisioned that we'd be turning these same machines loose on the things that, in many ways, set us apart from animals. We do envision things that never were and create them. We do make things simply because we can. We do make things because we feel they are beautiful, or unusual, or odd - and we appreciate them as such. Now, while technically humans are still in the pipeline from idea to execution, we are turning a very important part of creation over to the computer - the act of creating.

Government and intellectuals seem to be somewhat alarmed at the rapid pace at which AI has become part of our reality, and are exhibiting a certain amount of concern about its proliferation in the "wild." What happens, for example, if AI becomes "self-aware?" Can it continue to exist apart from its maker? Can it make decisions, and in the IOT (Internet of Things) communicate with other machines absent any control by its "owner?"

This latest use of technology, ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response via audio input, is, while still appearing to be offered by humans recording the sounds it relies upon, has great potential to become yet another of these ways in which a machine might interact with humans, and humans have little to no way of returning the horse to the barn. 

According to Wikipedia, ASMR "ASMR is a subjective experience of 'low-grade euphoria' characterized by 'a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin.' It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control."

This, of course, is nothing new. We can get a "frisson" reaction to a beautiful sound, or seeing a painting, or reading a scary book. 

More concerning, though, is that this reaction has been identified, and thanks to both technology and our interconnection due to the Internet, "A genre of videos intended to induce ASMR has emerged, approximately 25 million of which had been published on YouTube by 2022." The point of the video is not just the sound, in many cases, but also the image. One, for example, was simply a glass mug full of ice cubes over which a fizzy drink was poured. The response to this will undoubtedly vary from person to person, but it certainly - as ad makers have known for a long time - has the power to inspire thirst, if not a pleasurable sensation due to our unconscious associations with the look and sound of an enticing looking drink being poured.

If you've not seen them, or gauged your reaction to them, and want to dip your toe into these waters - be warned. As far as I was concerned, there was no tingling of positive reaction, but more of a reaction of something like disgust. I suspect that's more due to the first type of ASMR audio experience I had - in this case, a YouTuber simply using a close mic to create mouth noises and tapping sounds, clicking her tongue and tapping her extremely long fingernails. I had quite some time ago experienced "binaural beats," a type of audio in which sounds are created using two microphones, strategically placed to mimic the reception of your two ears, and, when listened to using a headset, can elicit a calm and even sleepy reaction.

Experimentation with sound to elicit an emotional or physical sensation is no doubt as old as the creation of music, or seeking out specific sounds like the moving water of a creek or waves hitting a beach, birdsong or wind in trees, even the sound of rain hitting a roof. 

But with the advent of not only recording, but manipulation of the recording and now, the possibility of sounds that never were simply being created with the intent to arouse some sort of response, we have yet another sci-fi option come true. 

Long ago, movie theaters were accused of showing flashes of images, like the words "You are thirsty," or a quick image of popcorn popping, to give the viewers a "subliminal message" that they wanted a snack or a drink, and that these techniques would up sales at the snack bar. Whether this really happened, or was an urban legend, the possibility certainly exists now for us to be subtly manipulated both deliberately, and potentially potently.

Now, add AI to the mix. AI can take your simple instructions and create a piece of art, or write a story. Now perhaps it can be used to make music, or, in the case of ASMR, a sound-story that can specifically target a desired response. And while the possibility of using such technology to good purpose - like, for example, reducing the need to take a drink, or helping ease one into sleep, or elicit a desire to exercise - the reverse is also true. 

The modern Prometheus continues to change shape.