Presented by Lily Almaraz & Aileen H. Wang

ALONE TOGETHER = ROBOT and NETWORK = human?!

Intimacy & New Solitudes Technology… Proposes itself as the architect of our intimacies Suggests substitutions that put the real on the run Seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities and as it turns out, we are very vulnerable indeed “We are lonely but fearful of intimacy.”

The Robotic Moment.. moves from live animals to sociable robots. From the sociable robots in children’s playrooms to the more advanced ones in the laboratory and those being developed and deployed for children and elderly care…..we have a desire of robots for not only nurturance, companionship, but also care…. Part 1

Application of Robots Pets Medicals Entertainment

Part 1 Part 1 PET-ROBOTS…

Part 1 Part 1 Medical-Robots…

Humanoid Robot HRP-4C MIT's Nexi MDS Robot Robot Violinist Arismo Roxxxy Part 1 Part 1 Entertainment- Robots

Part 1 Nurturance… more than harmless amusements, they are powerful because they invite our attachment. And such attachments change our way of being in the world.

Part 1 NOW, technology offers us substitutes for connecting with each other face-to-face. We live the robotic moment not because we have companionate robots in our lives but because of the way we contemplate them on the horizon. This says much about who we are and who we are willing to become.

Part 1 A survey by the United Nations has reported that “robots are set to become increasingly familiar companions in the home by 2007.” By 2007 it is predicted that there will be almost 2.5 million entertainment and “leisure” robots in homes which compares to 137,000 currently

Part 1 Sherry Turkle

Part 1 & Part 2 Discussion Are you open to have elderly care given by robots? Do you think networks help or hurt our relationships with each other?

Part 2 Networked, we are together, but lessen our expectations of each other that make us feel utterly alone Exploration of the networked life and its effects Experiences of adults and adolescents Through our connection we are losing each other

Part 2 Second Life

Part 2 Second Life Online identities make individuals feel more like themselves than they do in the physical world ◦Pete and his “life mix”  “Second Life gives me a better relationship than I have in real life” ◦Connection with Jade= disconnection with Alison

Part 2 Second Life People feel more comfortable in an unreal place than a real one because they feel that in simulation they show their better and perhaps truer self ◦Joel=Rashi the Elephant ◦Acting Out and Working Through ◦Practice seems perfect

Part 2 Facebook Our profile ends up as somebody else- often the fantasy of who we want to be Audrey ◦Give and Take Process ◦Identity

Part 2 Confessionals Adults ◦Online confessions are used as a substitute for things they want and don’t have ◦Sheryl ◦Confession and Apology

Part 2 Confessionals Teens ◦Take online confession on its own term, it’s a new and interesting networking site ◦Darren ◦Losing connections

Part 2 Confessionals Not therapy Not a place to find community ◦Am I watching a performance? ◦How much performance am I watching? ◦Am I becoming coarsened, or am I being realistic?

Part 2 Cell Phone Parents and Teens ◦Continual contact and physical and emotional safety ◦Hindering development of independence ◦Teens v. Cell Phones  Parents and other Adults ◦ Robin ◦ Boston Nurse

Part 2 Texting Over Phone Calls Audrey ◦Texting used as a form of protection  “Nothing will get spat at you…”  “There’s time to think…”  “A phone conversation is too much pressure…” Texting is seductive ◦Lack of desired attention

Part 2 Texting Over Phone Calls Adults ◦Widowed Office Manager  Phone calls are an intrusion  She’s not ready for “people in person” Text messaging enables individuals to keep themselves at a distance from their feelings

Part 2 Teenagers use computers and mobile devices for community when they are not receiving that necessary attention from their parents and families Overwhelmed by the pace that technology makes possible ◦Unhealthy attachment and isolation from our real world relationships

Conclusion ◦The simplification and reduction of relationship is no longer something we complain about. It may become what we expect, even desire because of our vulnerability ◦We are tethered, but through this continual connection we lose the intimacy of being with people in person, hearing their voices, and seeing their faces

Conclusion “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I cam to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary.”