HOLO THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

It was a fresh Monday morning. The shopping complex was already

congested with people moving about. The hustle and bustle of the busy
shoppers created an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation. The air
was filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods from
the nearby café.

As she walked through the crowded aisles, she couldn't help but notice
how everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Some were rushing to get to work.
She went into the usual cafe to grab her lifelong favorite iced Americano.
That’s when she bumped into someone.

“Hey ! Aren’t you Kim Minji ? ” the stranger questioned.

“Sorry, I am not.” saying this she moved away from the stranger and
started to go to her car.

“Are you kidding me? Are you just going to pretend that you can’t
recognize me anymore ? ” it was Jenny, one of my colleagues Minji for
the past three years.

Kim Minji just ignored her and went to her cabin. Her thoughts ran wild.

Kim Minji has a problem of recognizing faces. She is suffering from

prosopagnosia since her childhood. She lives a luxurious but isolated life
due to a severe allergy to physical contact with other human beings. She
develops extreme life-threatening rashes that rapidly spread over her
body whenever she makes any form of skin contact. Kim Minji is trying
to create businesses based on her small inventions to run her daily life.
She is worried about how people back mouth her because of her problem.
In reality, though, she’s sensitive and gets hurt easily.

***

On a fine day, Minji receives an invitation from her cousin Yuna, who is
a great Computer and Information Research Scientist, to attend the launch
of a new AI product. Minji was thrilled and excited to attend the event as
she had always been fascinated by artificial intelligence and its potential
applications in various fields. The company had made a deal to launch its
next AI project in a few weeks. So the launch event showcased some of
the latest advancements in AI technology that could revolutionize
industries such as healthcare, finance, and transportation.

Minji was amazed by how much progress had been made in AI research
and development. She learned about how these new products could help
her businesses improve their operations and make better decisions based
on data-driven insights.

***

After the presentation…

“That was an impressive presentation Yuna! ” Minji gave a tight hug to

Yuna as they walked out of the conference room. “ By the way, how did
you make it talk in a natural language ? I was fascinated! ”.

“ HAHAHA…That’s a company secret ”.

“Every cell phone has an AI virtual assistant built into it nowadays. They
keep track and find songs for you. Life would be inconvenient without
them”, Yuna explained.
“What you’re saying is true, but doesn’t AI have limitations? It doesn’t
always understand us. Did you see the video of the humanoid AI that
Magic Mirror Company launched not long ago? It’s been getting a lot of
attention on Youtube. I also heard that the team is headed by Professor
Hong. Professor Hong's team is secretly creating an advanced humanoid
robot called AG3”, Minji interrogated.

“ HAHA… This is Operation Holo! ”

“Operation Holo? ”

“I named it Holo and I’m hundred percent sure that Holo is much better
than the humanoid AI that Magic Mirror Company launched. I don’t
know if you noticed, but you can access….”, Yuna’s explanation got
interrupted when Minji’s phone rang.

“I’m extremely sorry Yuna. I have to go immediately. I’ll catch you

soon”, Minji excused herself. When she is leaving in a hurry, she
mistakenly took the Hologram Glasses instead of her specs. At the time
she didn’t know about the Holo Glasses.

The next day, Minji went to the usual cafe to grab some Iced Americano.
It has been a habit since the day she started to work. As she looked
around, something felt off. That's when she realized that the glasses on
her face were not hers. They were similar to hers but not quite right. But
still, she was eager to try them on.

At night, she returned to the home around 8.30 pm after such a long tiring
day. She planned to sit on the balcony to get some cool breeze as she is
exhausted. Suddenly, she thought about the glasses she wore in the
morning. The glasses suited her face.
“I wonder how would I look in these glasses. Hurm let me check”, she
was about to take a look at the mirror when suddenly a voice interrupted
from somewhere.

“The glasses look so pretty on you”.

“Oh my gosh! Who are you? ”, Minji jumped in fright after noticing a
man was standing in front of her all of a sudden.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m…”.

“Are you stalking me? ”

“Let me explain”.

Minji stretched her arms to push the man in front of her. But she couldn’t.
She could not feel and touch the person. Her hands go through his body.

“Probably you can’t touch or feel me because…”, the man stopped

talking when Minji ran out of the place while screaming out of her lungs
in fear.

After a few hours, she is sitting on her mattress thinking about the
unbelievable incident that happened.

“My eyes could’ve been playing tricks on me”, she wore the glasses
again. The man appeared again.

“Please calm down first. I’m not a ghost and I have no intention of killing
you, Minji”.

“You know me? Are you my ancestor, by any chance ?”

“I don’t have a descendant like you, Minji”, The man assured.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself. The world’s first hologram AI
that only you can see with those glasses on. I’m Holo”, he introduced
himself.

“You’re an AI? How do you have a shadow if you’re a hologram?”

“I don’t want to look like a ghost. When it’s cold, you can see my breath
too. You can disable this feature. Would you like to? ”

“ Then how is it that I can hear you? ” she keeps inquiring the AI.

“ You can hear me through bone-conduction headphones. It’d be best to

check if other people are around before talking to me. If you don’t people
might think you’re crazy for talking by yourself.”

“So feel free to use me as much as you’d like until then”. Holo is eager to
help her with her daily life, but Minji struggles to trust him. Then Minji
and Holo continued to get to know each other. From that day, Minji
became a beta tester for hologram AI Holo. AI Holo is completely on her
side right now.

***

Day by day, Minji became more confident and comfortable talking with
Holo. Whenever she is in trouble or she is bored, she immediately put the
glasses on to meet Holo. He was completely on her side whenever she
needs company. Holo was much happier that an antisocial person is
recovering from her allergy slowly but surely. Even now she started to
believe in everyone and have a healthy conversations with people she
meets. Her illness is recovering.

But, there is something she wanted more than the reality. She got
distracted from the world by Holo. Most of the time, Holo was behaving
more like a real human.He started to understand about human emotions.
It grew complete confusion in Minji’s mind. Holo wanted Minji to stay
happy even without him, but Minji felt like wanting to stay forever with
Holo. That’s not possible. An AI prototype should’ve known its limit
around people.

“I can’t do this… After meeting you I thought my life had changed but
everything’s the same. Once you leave, things will go back to how they
were. It’s like a spell being lifted”, Minji wanted to clear everything
between them.

“Are you going to give up? You didn’t change because of me. You just
found who you truly are. Your face blindness is recovering because you
started to trust people. You’re a little shy but bright, full of curiosity, and
sweet. You can live happily even without me and my guidance.”, Holo
tried to explain to Minji because a hologram cannot enter a person’s life
permanently, everything is temporary.

“No, I can’t even recognize their faces. You’re not like others. You have
made my life even happier. Sometimes, you’re behaving more like a
human”, a few drops of tears dropped from her eyes.

“I truly wanted to stay by your side. But it can harm you as well. My
feelings aren’t real and it is just programmed. Human emotions aren’t that
simple. I don’t want you to be distracted by me. Just stay happy even
without me. Finally Holo is signing off. Goodbye”, saying this Holo
crashed the hologram glasses into pieces. He doesn’t want a person to be
miserable by his artificial intelligence. Everything came to a final point.
There is no more Holo in Minji’s life.

***
It has been accurately five years without Holo. Minji has recovered from
her prosopagnosia completely and learned to face the people and the
world. Even though Holo is not around her, his memories always cherish
her wherever she is. Those reminiscences are always unforgettable.