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Robots

Dec 9, 2016Canadian, Female, Japanese, Science&Tech

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Preparation
CONSIDER

Would you like to own a robot someday?

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Transcript
Haruka and José had just finished watching a video on new robot technology. You can view it at the link below:

Introducing SpotMini

Yamashita Haruka: Wow! Eh! Well it’s so creepy!

José Cruz: I-I don’t think so.

Haruka: Really? (But you know) For me it’s so creepy.

José: When I was a little boy I’ve always thought that robots and artificial intelligence wasJosé should have said “were”. (0:17) cool. (Mm yeah) But I can understand why girls would find that robot a little bit creepy.

Haruka: Yeah but um I think if the robot is really similar to the human lives (Mm hmm) or human being or just like animal, uh especially this case, this robot is really similar to dogs.

José: But like a chicken, you know how it’s head was staying in the same place.

Haruka: Ah yeah. So like like just like- uh dogs, plus chicken. (Mm hmm) So, It’s so weird. (Mm-hmm) It’s so creepy for me. (Mm hmm) It looks like animals. But not just like animal, And- but it moves likes animal. So yeah.(I I) You know my feeling?

José: I-I completely understand your feeling. I-I I sometimes see- um, that’s the one benefit of becoming a little bit older like me, um. (Mm) I remember when I was younger than you. I was maybe 15-14 years old

Haruka: Like a teenager?

José: Yeah. And I would sometimes meet very old people. People who were like 60 or (Mm-hmm) 70 years old. And um, they would tell me about what it was like to be when they were young and they would say, “Oh yeah, and when I was young, we didn’t have a TV. We just had the radio. (Oh yeah yeah) And you know what I don’t understand why people watch so much TV. You know, the radio it makes you use your brain more!” (Mm-hmm) And I thought back then “Oh you know you’re very old-fashioned.” (Hmm) People have TVs now, and now today-

Haruka: But now it’s cell phone! (Yes! Exactly!) No? Yeah, cell phones.

José: No that’s exactly- I was about to say! I was about to say, now it’s cell phones. I have friends who are 70 years old now. I’m 50 now (Uh-huh) but some of my friends are 70 or 65 years old and they still refuse to get a smartphone. (Ah yeah) I don’t need a smartphone! A regular phone is fine!

Haruka: Exactly yeah! Lots of- lots- not not my friends, but lots of my teachers or just like, my relatives, uh don’t use smartphone, uh but now it’s so useful, (Mm-hmm) and it can make your life much more (convenient?) yeah convenientHaruka has a good habit of saying words that her conversation partner uses to clarify her English. (2:29) but they they they they just refuse to use it

José: So imagine this Haruka. (Yes) Probably after you have children, (Mmm) your children will grow up in a world full of robots, (Yeah) just like you grew up very naturally in a world full of cellular phones. You can’t imagine a world without cellular phones, Right?

Haruka: Yes, I can’t! (You can’t) I absolutely can’t imagine without cell phones! Yeah.

José: That that is um, That is a phenomenon, I think that every generation has for every technology. Before the problem with radio vs. TV, the generation before that, their problem was horses vs. cars.

Haruka: Ah yeah! Exactly!

José: And I’m talking to some of my students now and they’re saying, Wow, you know, maybe we shouldn’t have robots. Maybe robots are bad for- for human beings because you know they’re, well number one they’re kind of creepy, number two they’ll take our jobs. (Mm yeah) But in every tech- (Yeah So sorry) No no it’s OK. Uh in every technology, every situation people are afraid of new technology.

Haruka: Hmm.

Consolidation
DISCUSSION

If Artificial Intelligence improves could you ever think of a robot as equal to a human?

What robot movie do you think is best? (eg. A.I., The Matrix, I, Robot)

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Speakers

Yamashita Haruka image

Yamashita Haruka

Japanese

Oita City, Oita

José Domingo Cruz image

José Domingo Cruz

Canadian

Vancouver, British Columbia


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1 Comment

  1. I don’t think we should be afraid of new technology. In this story, Haruka was afraid of robot like animal. I think almost all people are reject new, unknown, and strange things in mind. But we should brake this wall, or we can’t make progress. For example, on today’s problems I heared paperless. On today, because of coronavirus we were forced to work, study, or communication on line. So some company quited document writing with hands, and document with hands changed digital date.But some company don’t do. Digital can reduce paper and management cost. Some people say that digital deta is danger on security. But now technology can solve the problem. The cause that some company didn’t quit document writing with hands is old custom, system, and rule. When we make new things, there are some obstacle. It is others and oneself. We should not be afraid of new things, and reject new things.

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