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

Part 1Application of Robots Pets Medicals Entertainment

Part 1

PET-ROBOTS…

Part 1Medical-Robots…

Humanoid Robot HRP-4CMIT's Nexi MDS RobotRobot ViolinistArismoRoxxxy

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 1A 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 1Sherry Turkle

Part 1 & Part 2Discussion

Are you open to have elderly care given by robots?

Do you think networks help or hurt our relationships with each other?

Part 2Networked, 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 adolescentsThrough our connection we are losing

each other

Part 2Second Life

Part 2Second LifeOnline 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 2Second LifePeople 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 2FacebookOur profile ends up as somebody else-

often the fantasy of who we want to beAudrey

◦Give and Take Process◦Identity

Part 2ConfessionalsAdults

◦Online confessions are used as a substitute for things they want and don’t have

◦Sheryl◦Confession and Apology

Part 2ConfessionalsTeens

◦Take online confession on its own term, it’s a new and interesting networking site

◦Darren◦Losing connections

Part 2ConfessionalsNot therapyNot 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 2Cell PhoneParents 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 2Texting Over Phone CallsAudrey

◦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 2Texting Over Phone CallsAdults

◦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 2Teenagers 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.”