Unlikely Companion
Oral Communication Practice
Watch the video and respond to the questions below.
1. Why do you think the character in the clip wanted a robot friend?
2. Would you like a robot friend? Why or why not?
RESPONSES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Max, 7, on his toy robot Meccano MAX
“I think [my robot companion] looks good and I like how the eyes always change, but it has an extremely creepy voice. Also, when it asks you a question, if you answer too quietly, it talks over you and carries on with the next question, which annoyed me.”
Liat Hughes Joshi, 51, parenting expert and author
“In moderation, [it] can be quite healthy, but if [robot/child relationships] starts to take over from real-world relationships, it becomes quite a concern. Children need interaction with actual, real people to learn about empathy, to read non-verbal cues and I’m quite sure we’re a long way from robots being at that level.”
Caroline van Straten, researcher for University of Amsterdam
“Children are likely to form relationships with robots, regardless of our stance towards this new kind of social bond … but instead of asking how robots can be turned into ever more human like peers, maybe we should be asking ourselves . . . whether the emergence of child-robot relationships is, in fact, desirable.”
