a real heavy connection
Some basic research in companionship, with possible wider applications:
(from NPR Morning Show, 11/06/07)
[audio=http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/6/3/1140363/mp3s/Qrio-npr.mp3]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdweH56Ra_Q]
categories: Uncategorized
posted by what at 11:01 pm
I don’t know about this, call me old fashioned, technophobe, whatever…
I understand there are some real applications for robots that make sense, but to use them to teach our children what makes a human a human? I’d like to believe our children are capable of figuring out that distinction on their own. To me, this is not exciting or groundbreaking, but sad, just sad. And it leaves me very melancholy.
Isn’t the point of this research to learn from the children what’s human?
I’d like to leave a witty, deep, and profound comment but quite honestly, all I could think of watching the video was: “They don’t dance well because they don’t have a butt to wiggle”.
Thanks for the video my friend. I won’t over-think this into worring about the end of humanity. It’s a doll - an automated doll. When they learn to do laundry then I’ll take notice but I hope they don’t change the robot’s structure. A robot with a cute butt doing my laundry would be very creepy.
Now, see, I wasn’t thinking about the robotishness at all. I was thinking about what the handlers were learning about human intelligence (and its applications to entertainment industry).
The two things in the piece that struck me were: (1) you can’t dance all the time or people lose interest, and (2) it’s good to let people go off and recharge from time to time.
Maybe I just have a one track mind. But now I’ll start considering whether I want one of those things. I haven’t acquired any new technology in a few months.
(1) Of course you can’t dance all the time, but it takes people a lot longer to lose interest if you have a cute butt to wiggle!! LMAO - ok, ok, that was shallow but it IS true never-the-less!
(2) granted
(3) Kids (and adults) have been responding to dolls and pet animals for thousands of years and we do tend to respond to attributes in them that we also respond to in the people we make friends with. We like people/dolls/animals who respond to us; who giggle at our touch; who turn their heads at the sound of our voice; who smile from the stage at the sound of our screaming voices.
You’re right, there is a connection between the way children respond to a robot and the way audiences respond to an entertainer. I see that now in the cold morning after the glass of wine has been slept away. I still, however, prefer an ability to do laundry over a cute butt in a robot any day of the week.
(4) bringing the word “monkey” into this conversation would be creepy so let’s not go there