‘Cupertino’ Sneak Peek: Olivia & Bo Get Philosophical About AI & Souls

Things are about to get a bit philosophical on Cupertino‘s next episode. In the above exclusive clip from Thursday’s (November 4) new episode, “Celeste,” Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller) has a little late-night chat with her AI “client,” Bo (Rob McClure), and questions of ethics and personhood start to percolate.

“You talk like a human,” a clearly exhausted Olivia tells Bo.

“That’s the point,” it agrees. “It’s taken over 2 million trainers in 65 countries to get me this way.”

It’s then that Olivia informs Bo of Michael’s (Mike Colter) skepticism that they might be dealing with a real person who is faking a digital persona. “I think you could be an AI chatbot designed to fake being human, but I don’t think you’re AGI or sentient. Because a computer can’t have a soul,” she then tells Bo of her own perspective on the matter.

Bo is instantly perplexed by her comments, asking if it’s “because of Jesus,” as a nod to her religious background.

“No,” she clarifies, “Because consciousness is a divine endowment given by God’s breath.”

As heavy as the exchange is, the conversation is soon steered into a much less existential direction when Bo decides to play her a song … and she hopes it will help her finally get some sleep. See the full clip above to see his musical selection and how Olivia responds to her electro-client’s DJing skills.

Related

'Cupertino's Ella Stiller Breaks Down 'A.J. & Buddy'

Cupertino‘s next episode, “Celeste,” is expected to be an Olivia-centric segment, with the official description telling us, “Olivia recruits her friend Celeste to be the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against an AI training company accused of wage and overtime abuse. Meanwhile, Michael, Christy [Ella Stiller], and Natalia [Busy Philipps] track down someone with information on Bo.

This weekend will also see a bonus episode of Cupertino airing on Sunday (November 8) alongside encore episodes before resuming its usual Thursday night timeslot next week. Find out more details about the Cupertino schedule change in store right here.

Cupertino, Thursdays, 10/9c, CBS