answer questions and interact with a quizzical and curious public. These mediations often perpetuate limited constructs of femininity as servile and pleasing to the eyes and ears. Like Faber’s Euphonia, they are figures with softer, delicate facial features designed to act in service of, or to entertain, a human audience or individual.
In Greek mythology, Galatea is a story about a sculptor who falls in love with his creation: an ivory statue of a feminine figure. The artist’s subconscious desires are brought to life in the beautiful statue, and the goddess Aphrodite grants his wish, bringing his creation to life. Drawing on this myth,
of the same name weaves together themes of mimicry, cloning, and voice with subtlety and precision. Her story provokes us to contemplate whatmight desire from feminine A.I. figures originally programmed to please, entice, and serve a male-coded user. In Cheung’s “ ,” the female characters, human and A.I. alike, model irreducible nuance in their utterances and speech, despite being programmed by their creators and through social forces, gendered expectations, and norms.The story is told in the second-person, filtering the reader’s experience through the perspective of the female narrator who encounters Galatea, an A.I.-powered bot, and her male owner.