
summary of The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence by Isabel Millar:
Isabel Millar’s The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence offers a provocative and interdisciplinary exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) through the lens of Lacanian psychoanalysis. Rather than focusing solely on the technological aspects of AI, Millar delves into the psychoanalytic dimensions of AI, particularly the concept of \"enjoyment\" (jouissance) and its implications for human subjectivity. Drawing on Lacanian theory, she examines how AI challenges traditional notions of subjectivity, desire, and the human unconscious. A central motif in the book is the \"sexbot\"—a humanoid robot designed for sexual interaction—which Millar uses to interrogate the intersections of technology, sexuality, and identity. By analyzing representations of AI in popular culture, such as films like Blade Runner 2049 and Ex Machina, Millar illustrates how these narratives reflect and amplify societal anxieties about the boundaries between the human and the artificial. She argues that these cultural artifacts reveal deeper truths about our desires, fears, and the ways in which we project our unconscious fantasies onto machines. Millar\'s work challenges readers to reconsider the ethical and philosophical questions surrounding AI, urging a shift from the question \"Does it think?\" to \"Can it enjoy?\" This reframing opens up new avenues for understanding the role of AI in our lives and its potential impact on our conception of what it means to be human.