Imagining if teachers were robots may seem like it would make life a lot easier since there are many advantages to it, but there are many disadvantages as well. Purchasing a robot would concern a lot of money since robots are very expensive, but on the other hand, robots do not get paid a salary, since they do not need the money. Robots would also be very interesting as they can teach young students some technological skills, as many children nowadays face the issue of not knowing how to use technology for academic reasons. Moreover, having robots as teachers would be very time efficient, as robots are programmed to do a certain job without changing a bit of it. Although robots may see very efficient and successful, but the fact that they do not have feelings may come in the way. For example, if a student had an emergency, the robot would not make any excuses for him no matter what the cause would be; the student would just drop down in his grades for something he could have talked through with is teacher, and been excused for. Robots would also not be very inspiring to students, which relates to the fact that they get programmed for a certain job, which is just giving the students all the knowledge they have without looking for ways to inspire and motivate them. Therefore, the idea of robot teachers may be very risky financially and academically.

On the 10th of May, I was very excited as my favorite Kpop solo artist Kim Taeyeon released her new Japanese title track (Voice). As expected it was worth listening. However, this music video was different. During the mv we see different versions of Taeyeon disappearing and then appearing from other places. Then, suddenly we see Taeyeon as a robot between a huge number of wires. Ignore the Photoshop and the editing work of the video as her head is very small for the robot body actually. However, this was very interesting as we never saw such thing in Taeyeon’s previous releases, as nearly all her releases are very emotional and full of feelings. I thought why this was this different and why they show her as a robot. It is not a Korean song but Japanese, that’s why I thought that they may have produced this video in this way to go well with the Japanese market.

English translation of the chorus: –

All the voices in my heart
Your lingering voice echoes again and again
Where are you now?
You’re always in my heart
Your voice whispers in my heart
Am I still depending on you?

One of the main things that make humans not comfortable while dealing with robots, or are not accepting that there is a possibility that one day humans might have a relationship with a robots is that robots have a mechanical inner structure. Robots are unlike humans they do not have blood, veins, muscles and so on, as we all know. Thus, this makes humans uncomfortable when they are dealing with them, so robots’ manufacturing  companies have managed to develop a robot, called the Anthropometric robot that has an inner structure similar to humans. They managed to make its inner structure containing muscle, joints and tendons so it could act and interact like humans, and for humans to be more comfortable while dealing with it. Moreover, the added the facial recognition software to the robot to be able to act and interact exactly like humans.

Here is a picture of an anthropometric robot.

One of the classes that kept my mind pondering over even after the class ended, is how the Japanese think of the world and its animate and inanimate objects. In other words, how they order the animate and inanimate objects in term of importance; is god the most important thing, and humans are right after him? As most of us consider, or are animals and plants more important than humans and even than god? But how if god is the one who created us and them in the very first place? This discussion kept me thinking for so long as most of humans at least who live in the Middle East think in a vertical way where they have an order in their minds about who is superior and what are the things that comes after and above humans in this order, and this is the way that i have been thinking my whole life. However, after discussing how the Japanese think in a horizontal way where every animate or inanimate object are equal, I have started changing my way of thinking a little bit. Humans are equal to machines, as machines are important and objects are important; because, nowadays humans can not live without desks, chairs, computers and so on. Thus, humans are equal to machines, also they are equal to animals and plants, as humans cannot survive without animals and plants. Therefore, we should think in a horizontal way where everything is equal, or in specific where humans are equal to machines. Consequently, we should not be surprised when Japan robots were granted the Japanese citizenship and not refugees, as they work more efficiently.

The movie takes place in a Lithuanian Jewish community where people were very religious. The first theme that pops up is the idea of gender discrimination as only men were allowed to attend the lessons given by the Rabbi because women were considered unable to comprehend religious content. The main character, Hannah, refused this idea and kept going to those lessons secretly without anyone watching and she appeared to have a deeper understanding of the concepts than most men. Hannah was also studying books concerning the Kabbalah which is a group of sacred texts that contain writing similar to enchantments that deal with the mystical parts in Judaism. Hannah had lost her son, Joseph, and was not intending on giving birth again because of the effect his loss had on her. The village’s community was peaceful and even though the plague was rampant at that time, the villagers were all healthy which attracted barbaric invaders to the village. The invaders took control of the village and forced lock downs every night and Hannah was not willing to give in. She had been read a lot of Kabbalah books and she was finally able to create a Golem. She constructed the Golem’s body with mud and with some religious words, she was able to give him the breath of life. The Golem resembled her son very much and she immediately felt attached to it. The power of the Golem and the connection between it and Hannah became clear when it murdered a lady who was constantly flirting with Hannah’s husband the night after Hannah saw her doing so. Hannah used the Golem to fight the invaders and kick them out of the village. Everyone in the village saw the Golem. The Rabbi and Hannah’s mother warned Hannah that the Golem is not as good as it seems. Hannah’s mother tried to kill the Golem but it was able to kill her first. The religious men of the village decided also on killing it using words from Kabbalah books as well but they weren’t able to since the invaders came back and were torching the village. The Golem heard Hannah screaming and here we can sense the deep connection between it and Hannah. It was able to fight the effect of the spell and go save her from the invaders. After witnessing its monstrosity, Hannah decides to kill the Golem in a rather emotional scene as if she was killing her son.The idea of people getting emotionally attached with their creations like Laodamia with her wax statue of her husband, is very prevalent here since Hannah got attached to the golem because it looked exactly like a human being and not any human being but her dead son. She played with the golem, showered it and treated it like her real son regardless of the barbaric things he did which was very troubling to watch. Another idea comes up which is that our creations might actually backfire as the golem was supposed to protect the village and its residents when in fact, it killed hannah’s mother and the other lady. This tells us that we should think wisely before creating something that is that powerful.

Are you human too? A Sci-fi melodrama

Are You Human Too? is a sci-fi melodrama about a robot (Seo Kang Joon) that is brought in to impersonate a chaebol heir who is in a coma during a corporate power struggle. He develops a close bond with his bodyguard (Gong Seung Yeon) as he learns about humans and discovers who he is.

Seo Kang Joon plays dual roles as the the human Nam Shin and the robot Nam Shin III. Human Nam Shin was taken from his mom when he was young and was raised by his rich and greedy family. And this resulted in him being a pretty selfish and hot tempered man. But an accident lands him in a coma which jeopardizes his position as well his entire life.

Nam Shin III was made to fill a hole in his mom’s heart for her real son. And he is such a kind and lovable robot who seriously likes his mom and wants to please her. He also wants to protect humans and has a habit of hugging them when they cry. So when he is directed to impersonate human Nam Shin, he jumps right in and does what he can to protect human Nam Shin’s life. This shows how he is very grateful to his creators and trying his best to help them.

I did not watch the drama yet, that is why I did not read a lot of spoilers about how it is going. However, I am very excited to watch it in the holiday as it nearly covers all the topics that we talked about in the course. I want to know how the writers will develop Shin III’ character and how he will love human So Bong. The drama actually shows how a robot can have what we call “robot feelings” which make him closer to the people surrounding him. I am excited also to know how the mother really feel about Shin III and if she really loves him like her real son.

Are You Human Too? Korean Drama Review

One of the biggest problems that many people face on a daily basis is discrimination, whether it is in terms of race, gender etc. I think that discrimination is part of being human, because people love to compare things and find the differences between them, and they shape these differences to be reasons for something else, such as a black person being a criminal, or a woman being weak. If robots are introduced to our daily lives and become equals to humans, I think that discrimination between humans will seize to exist because the difference between a human and a robot will be more obvious than for example the difference between humans of different color. Humans will be united together and will consider themselves to be equal, but they will consider robots to be their enemies because the difference between them and humans will be the most obvious. I think that humans thrive on the “us and them” mentality, and I think the reason why nowadays it is being implemented between humans is because there is no other species we know of that is equally powerful as we are for us to consider our enemy, but when robots are introduced to our daily lives, they will be considered as the new enemy to most humans.

One of the most important jobs for a team in any sport is to analyze the other team in order to be prepared when playing against them. It’s a job that takes a lot of work, and is not usually accurate due to it being hard to read another team. However, if a program was made that analyzes all the games of the opposing team and provides a clear and accurate analysis about their style of play, the team using the program will have a huge advantage. I personally think that it is unfair to use such a program, because not all teams will be able to afford it (whoever invents it will probably make it extremely expensive) and the teams that use it will be too powerful in comparison with other teams. I think it is the same as players using anabolic steroids, because they are both unfair advantages that change the way the game is played.

Genji, a hero in the game Overwatch has a very interesting storyline. In the beginning, he was a ninja in a criminal Japanese organization. At one point he decides that what they are doing is wrong and fights against them, and he almost gets killed. He was saved in the end but sacrificed most of his body and became a cyborg. He wasn’t at peace with himself and did not accept the way he was as he thought he was no longer human. So, he went to a complete robot/AI to seek guidance in becoming a cyborg, because the robot was known to be more peaceful than actual humans, due to him having a reputation of healing the wounded. He taught him how to accept himself and ignore the idea that a cyborg or robot should not be considered as a good creature. Genji learned how to embrace his new exterior and use it to be become a better person. He goes on to fight the criminal organization that he used to work for, proving that a cyborg can have better morals than a human.

In season 1 episode 7 of the animated series Rick and Morty, Morty pleads Rick to buy him a sex robot from a store in space. Rick ends up buying it for him and they go back to earth. To no one’s surprise, Morty spends almost all his time having sex with the sex robot, we find out later in the episode that he even gives her a name. After some time, the robot gives birth to a child that is half human and half another species. Rick and Morty find out that these sex robots are used for reproduction on another planet, the females on the other planet are the superior gender and the only use they have for males is reproduction which is why they use the sex robots. They do not see any other use for the males and consider themselves far superior than them, which is probably true. The situation in the episode could actually be a reality one day for humans because our species may reach a point where we will find no need for sex, thus relying on sex robots for reproduction.