Waiter Robots

On this blog I wrote here about the robot teachers in South Korea. Now a new invention has produced the waiter robots in a local restaurant in Eastern China, where they are responsible for waiting and entertaining the customers. They always serve with a smiley face, they never loose their temper (especially with demanding customers) and of course they never expect a tip. Whilst the customers eat their food they also enjoy the robot's dance, which dances to the rhythmical eastern background music.

The question is what do people prefer? A human who has his ups and downs or a neutral robot that merely repeats what it has been programmed to do. What happens when a special circumstance occurs? Then do they call for the human to resolve it? Modern Technology has achieved many things, however some technological inventions are unnecessary. 

Robocop statue

Campaigners in Detroit have raised more than $50.000 to build a statue of Robocop. This idea was sparked on twitter and was directed at Detroit mayor Dave Bing explaining how "Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky, Robocop would kick Rocky's butt. He's a great ambassador for Detroit". However the mayor replied that the city did not have any plans of erecting such a statue. 

But this suggestion sparked an internet campaign. Imagination Station, a local non-profit group, set a Robocop fund. They managed to collect more than $25.000 in donations. Also a private source matched that sum, giving us a total of $50.000 for the Robocop statue. Who ever has seen the movies  filmed in the 1980s can understand why Detroit is the perfect place for a statue of Robocop, since they were set in a futuristic Detroit in which crime was rampant. 

Its not a first time a city or its people wish to build a statue of a fictional movie hero. The best example is Rocky, who is located outside a Philadelphia museum. 

Robot teachers

Many Hollywood films describe the future and show futuristic gadgets that seem alien to the world we live in today, although the way with which technology evolves rapidly makes anything seem possible. Seeing the film I, Robot starring Will Smith we see how jobs are taken from humans and given to robots. This unfortunate topic has become a reality in primary schools in South Korea. KAIST ( Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) introduced a robot with a screen in place of a head.

The robot teaches English, reads books and dances, moving its hands and head-screen. Currently there are 29 robots around the country. Kim Mi-Young explains that the robot helps the shy students get more involved in class.

This project is disturbing, since this will be a major problem in the future. Maybe the film I Robot will seem prophetic and humans will in the future lose their jobs to robots. Also ethical dilemmas are involved, concerning child psychology. How will a robot explain feelings, show compassion or even hug a child who needs love? I may not be the most experienced in the field but these are practical issues a teacher has to deal with, especially when teaching in primary school.

Other Governments should be critical towards this project and maybe discard it since it will create ethical and practical problems not only for the pupils but also for the teachers.