In the drama I Am Not a Robot, there were several things that I wanted to learn more about. Some of these things aren’t exactly cultural, they are more scientific. I wanted to add them anyways because I looked them up anyways. The Learning About Culture series is a way for me to share more about what I learned from watching the drama.
Android Robots
When I first decided to write about robots, I wanted to write a completely separate post. I now since decided against because I don’t want to write that much about robots. Sorry. Anyways, I did a little research to see if there is even a robot close to being like the Aji 3. And so far, there isn’t yet, but the researchers are working hard to create something similar. I learned that there is all sorts of robot research going on.
There is the android Erica who looks and sounds more realistic than previous robots before her. She cannot walk independently, but she does have improved speech. She is able to understand and respond to questions and her facial expressions change.
There is also a robot named Sophia, she can walk and she is the first robot citizen. She is able to simulate more than 60 different facial expressions, she can track and recognize faces, look into people’s eyes, and hold a natural conversations.
Then I learned that there are several different android robots that several different research teams are working on.
Japan is fully accepting of having robots in their workforce. Mitsubishi have robots for customers inquiries. There is Kirobo, who is a companion on the International Space Station and there is even a hotel that is almost completely staffed by robots. It is predicted that in Japan nearly 1/2 jobs can be done by robots by 2035.
Also while doing research, I discovered that South Korea is doing research to create military robots. I find this comical because in the drama, they made it an American who was trying to purchase the Aji 3 for that purpose–rude. Approximately 60 AI and robotics experts from 30 countries sign an open-letter boycott against the company. Hopefully they will stop their endeavors before it is too late. AND ROBOTS TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!! EEK!
The Invisible Gorilla
Professor Hong and the research team first drop “Aji 3” off at Min Kyu’s home. They were afraid that the truth would come out (it wasn’t the real Aji 3). Min Kyu has a high IQ and they thought that he would be able to discover that “Aji 3” wasn’t the original Aji 3 he first met. One of the researchers called it the “invisible gorilla.”
This the actual video from the invisible gorilla research.
The invisible gorilla is the best known study that demonstrates inattentional blindness. The study consisted of subjects watching a short video of a team basketball places in white and black shirts passing around a ball. They were asked to count the amount of bounce passes vs. aerial passes. during one of the videos, a person wearing a gorilla suit walks through the scene. The subjects were asked whether they saw the gorilla or not. About 50% did not see the gorilla.
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The Golem Effect
Min Kyu says the Golem Effect when he tested Aji 3 to see her capabilities. He asked her to do a set of tasks in a short amount of time and instead of doing what he expected. She did something completely less than he was hoping for.
The Golem effect is a psychological phenomenon when low expectations are placed on a person (by another or themselves), leads to poorer performance (aka self-fulfilling prophecy). The fascinating thing about this is that the majority of studies look at the relationship between the teacher and student. So this is definitely something that I need to keep in mind with my students (and possibly even my own children).
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The Finger Game
The drinking games that they play in this drama are hard to pinpoint the exact name and information. The closest that I got to the actual game is the game Never Have I Ever. The game is primarily a drinking game. It can be used as an icebreaker or like in this drama as a way to send two people to do a tasks that no one else wants to do.
The way the game is played in the drama is a variation of the original game. In the drama, everybody put up 5 fingers. And if a person has something/does something then they put their fingers down. Example: “Fold if you have glasses.”
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The Velveteen Rabbit
In I Am Not a Robot, Min Kyu reads the Velveteen Rabbit as he thinks about if Aji 3 somehow became a real person instead of being a robot.
The Velveteen Rabbit was written by British-American author Margery Williams. It is a story of a stuffed rabbit who wishes to become real with the love of its owner. It was first published in 1922 and has been republished several times since then.
Sometimes I think it’s fun to see a story that I know in a drama. The Velveteen Rabbit was a story that my mom used to read to me when I was little. And she told me that she always cried at the end. I have the story in a collection of storybooks for my children, I need to read it to it to my children.
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The Rose of Sharon is Blooming
While Min Kyu, “Aji 3”, Professor Hong and the researchers were celebrating one of the researcher’s birthday they play the game The Rose of Sharon is Blooming. The Rose of Sharon is Blooming is a game that is similar to Red light, Green Light in the United States. Here is BTS playing the same game. I like the way they play the game more than the Red Light Green light way.
The Hedgehog’s Dilemma
Min Kyu is upset about being betrayed. His butler tells him a story about hedgehogs. He tells him that the hedgehogs try to huddle together because they are cold, but they keep getting poked by their needles and so they separate. But they get together again despite the needles because they were so cold. The pain of being poked by the needles were more bearable than being cold by themselves. It is said that the hedgehog’s dilemma is a metaphor for the challenges of human intimacy.–The theme of the drama!
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People Watching
Professor Hong and Pi decide to go on a date. Toward the end of the date, they relaxed and decided to people watch. People watching is an old past time of mine. I used to and sometimes still enjoy making up stories about the people that pass by. So Fun.
Did you learn something new?
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