Turkle then questions a number of children about whether they think a robot companion might be good for their grandparents. For example, it matters more to them that a robot behaves “as if” it has empathy and not that it really does. Turkle finds overall that children are more behaviorist when it comes to considering robots. But precocious Kevin, age 12, asks, “‘If robots don’t feel pain, how could they comfort you?’” (69).Ī group of fifth graders debates the pros and cons of robot babysitters: while they might be more efficient, they can also break down like any other machine. If the Internet of 1995 was a postmodern playhouse, allowing individuals to engage in unbridled expression, Turkle. This is an especially common idea in those with absent parents. In Turkle’s latest book, Alone Together, this optimism is long gone. They see robots in this positive light, wondering if robots might be caretakers for them someday. She studies interactions between My Real Baby and children ages 5 to 14. Turkle traces “an emerging mythology depicts benevolent robots” (68) from WALL-E to R2D2 in the Star Wars movies.
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