Japan's Own Ishiguro
Robots. Geminoids. Future. The whole 10AM class was mesmerized. There's 2017 in a nutshell for you. All these electronics and abnormal machine parts moving like magic. It's bizarre. But we haven't seen it all just yet. Americans are in shock of all the newly built technologies we have invented, from self-vacuuming robots on the floor to self-driving automobiles on the road. It's just crazy. That's what the class was probably thinking. Then Dr. J. said a name that ringed in my head: Hiroshi Ishiguro.
As a Japanese raised in America, I wasn't "fully" raised as a Japanese would be raised if he or she was born in Japan. Aside from your typical manners and etiquettes to getting straight A's and perfect attendance in school, it is the environment in which I was raised in that held me back from my views of the world. I remember in my trip to Japan: flashing lights, noises, human eyes, machinery, electricity, abandonment. They were all lost in the future. Animatronics, dancing robots, robots that serve you food, don't even have to see a cashier, just say "Hey" to a robot. Welcome to Japan.
Hearing Ishiguro's name in class brought me back to my trips in Japan, and listening to Dr. J. talk about him was like a broken tape recorder. I already learned about him from my parents. Everything Dr. J. said, I already knew, just the way my parents explained it to me. Astro Boy, a hit Japanese movie and cartoon series, was about a boy who was created by a professor to replace his son Tobio, who died in a car accident. Even with the new Tobio beside him, the professor still felt empty without his actual son. Now this is exactly similar to the movie that Dr. J. showed the class. Thoughts were just rushing through my head when this topic came about in class. "Would I want my friend back 'alive' by making an identical human-made version of him?", "If these movies were actually real and kept going on for years, wouldn't robots start taking over?", "Japan's going to be the first to be taken over by robots." And of course, people have mixed feeling about robots taking over the world and whatnot. I personally think it would be interesting to see some robots do human work and act like humans, but to an extent. As long as robots aren't set out to kill off the human race, the world will become more interesting as more robots and ideas are brought up. Unlike some people in class, I am excited to see what the future holds.
Let's see how far Ishiguro's influences go.
4 comments:
This blog posts rings true for me as we share the same nostalgic sentiment. Staying up late at night as a kid unbeknownst to my parents, Astro Boy reruns lit up my TV screen.
Astro Boy Opening
I thought about how cool it would be to have a robotic friend and didn't even consider how creepy it could be. Your post brings me back to that childlike enthusiasm from long ago, and for that... Thank you.
(Yo whatsup Shinn boiiiiii)
Also brings back memories for me as well. I used to live n Japan for a short period of time while my dad served in the Navy.
Your description of Japan reminded me of Blade Runner. That is pretty much the setting for the movie. The plot even revolves around robots, or replicants in the movie, that look exactly like humans. They turn hostile and blend seamlessly into humanity, and pose a threat to everyone.
Many things said in your post is very true to literally all of the world. Humans strive to advancements and bettering the race. Robots are becoming mainstream in what we see today. We already have things like the geminoid project working to create human like robots, which they are very much on there way. I can only imagine what will happen when we create more advance robots.
Post a Comment