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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Cog

In Alone Together by Turkle, Cog is a mechanical toddler who was created to respond and learn from its surroundings. It gains its "artificial intelligence" by interacting and building relationships with humans. As children begin trying to teach Cog certain abilities, they are creating an unbreakable bond. One child explains, "In some ways Cog would be better than a person-friend because a real friend would never hurt your feelings" (93). I took a moment to think about this idea, and I came to the realization that this must be why children get so attached to inanimate objects. What kind of stuffed animal or robotic toy could hurt our feelings? None, because they don't contain true feelings for themselves. I think the children exposed to the mechanical creatures in Alone Together are so attached to the specimens because they hold the capability to build their own relationships how they would want a perfect friendship to be. But what if, with the new advancements in technology, a toy will be created with emotions? Would it effect how children play with toys from that point forward and would they get just as attached? Do you think the children would end up getting their feelings hurt in the long run?
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownAugust 21, 2013 at 2:09 AM

    I think creating a toy with emotions would be a disaster. I definitely think that it would effect how children play with toys from that point on. Having a toy that is able to feel and having the possibility of it getting overly attached to you is scary beyond belief. What if one day you don't like this certain toy anymore and you decide to throw it out or leave it in a pile of old toys, it certainly wouldn't like that it and would grow a hatred towards you. Also, tossing something aside that has feelings would be difficult because it's like tossing aside a human being or an animal, they can feel the abandonment and the hurt. In the long run, I don't think the children would be the one getting their feelings hurt, it would be the toys that developed an attachment towards you. Being attached to inanimate objects is a phase that usually dies off after a period of time.

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