Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Robot friends
After reading the first couple of chapters of Alone Together, I started to think about how attached we get to robots. In chapter 3, Turkle starts to talk about a robot dog named AIBO, who develops a certain personality by the way that it is raised from a newborn puppy to a full-grown dog. Turkle interviews many different people in which she asks them how their relationship is with their AIBO and most of them can all agree that their relationship with their AIBOs are great. They feel as though their AIBO is a great listener and understands them on a level where other people can't. One woman even said that she prefers to talk about her day with her AIBO rather than her husband because she knows that he won't be interested anyway. Some people even like AIBOs more than pets that are actually alive because AIBOs don't really need you or constant attention from you. People like that if they have a bad day they don't have to be bothered by their AIBO it will just play by itself, but if you have a real pet you still have to take care of it no matter how you're feeling. I think that AIBOs can damage your relationships with humans because you don't learn to interact with people because you're so used to just talking to robot. So when it is time to have a conversation with another human being it's kind of weird because you now have to listen, and learn that people may have different opinions than you do.
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I got annoyed when reading about the woman saying she would rather talk to her AIBO about her day than to her husband. An AIBO cannot hear and comprehend what you are saying. She might as well have been talking to a wall. Just because it is shaped like a dog and is programmed to act like a dog does not make it a dog. She should be talking to her husband about her day, not a robot.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it could damage relationships with humans because it really is completely different. When talking to another human, you have to listen and contribute to the conversation. When talking to a robot, it is a one sided conversation.
I don't understand why the woman would want to talk to her AIBO instead of her husband. Yes, the AIBO can be a companion, but is the robot closing us off from human conversation? I can see how if the woman talked to a real dog ,but a robot dog seems very unusual. Turkle fears that the relationships will guide people into thinking that electronic companions are "better than anything".
ReplyDeletei agree with you that the AIBO's can hurt human relationships. Talking to a robot is a whole lot different than talking to a human.
The AIBO is effectively a high-tech pet rock. An actual pet is more rewarding than an AIBO because pets are aware of who takes care of them and develop actual bonds with their owner. It baffles me how someone could prefer talking to such a thing over actual interaction with another human or pet. I think that the AIBO hampers human interaction and is counterproductive to society. I agree that such technology can damage human relationships.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you're saying here, kalei. I am reminded about how Turkle also talks about the belief that talking to someone via the computer is not as effective as talking to people face-to-face, especially when it comes to topics such as serious relationships and family tragedies. I think we as humans need social interaction. We can't go too long in isolation without going crazy or freaking out. Of course, talking to a robot dog is different. But it also seems like you might just be talking to yourself.
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