Valentine's Day is fast approaching and many are thinking deeply about the perfect present for their loved one. With the digital revolution some are seeking the assistance of artificial intelligence at web sites like intellectGift.com to help them choose a gift that would suit their partner. It perhaps says something about our increasing dependency on digital technology that people are turning to artificial intelligence to help them choose a gift.
According to some scholars the tradition of Valentine's Day dates back to a priest named Valentine who continued to perform marriage ceremonies in violation of a ban by the Roman Emperor Claudius. The Emperor banned marriages because he thought that if men were not married, they would more likely join the army. The holy priest was caught during one ceremony and was thrown in jail awaiting the punishment of death. Many young people came to the jail to visit the priest. They threw flowers and notes up his window, because they wanted him to know that they, too, believed in love. Saint Valentine suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270.
This tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day has now blossomed into a huge global commercial event. While Internet resources and artificial intelligence may appear to be too impersonal or technical to be part of this romantic occasion, people are turning to them in increasing numbers. Perhaps it is because the Internet is a reflection of what people are thinking and what they need. The Internet allows many people to connect to others for advice on what they need at any given moment, including picking a gift for Saint Valentine's Day. Whether it is through blogs, online newspapers or virtual worlds the content for choosing a gift comes from people who have gift ideas and are now able to share them with others online.
In his discourse for World Communications Day 2010, Pope Benedict XVI emphasizes that it is person behind the computer which gives the online world its richness. In speaking about the contribution of priests to the world of digital communications, he states that it is the priestly heart which "will give a soul to the fabric of communications that makes up the Web". In this light we can turn to the digital world on Saint Valentine's Day without fear of losing the romance of the occasion.
Irene Provenzano is a free-lance journalist based in USA.
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