June 1, 2018 • 23 mins
What does it truly mean to be human, and can a machine be human in a world where artificial intelligence is on the rise? This week, we take a listen in on what people think it means to be truly human, and what comforts and scares them about machines.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Dylan, what do you think of? When I say machine?
I think of something either really complex or really simple,
and something that's either really helpful or really frustrating. What
do you think of? Is it bad that I immediately
think of Westworld in the movie Her, where machines are
(00:20):
portrayed with such human like characteristics. So what's she like? Well,
and a Samantha and she's an operating system. She's really
complex and interesting. I'm sorry you're dating your troop shooter.
Do I watch too much TV? Yes? We know I
(00:42):
watched too much TV, but my binge watching led me
to really think about how our society views the machines
we use in our day to day life. They're starting
to become more human every day, they know our schedules,
are likes and dislikes when we talked to the most
and they're even starting to drive on our own. So
it got me thinking what are the real differences between us?
(01:04):
And that's what we're talking about today. We're listening to
the answers to the question what is the difference between
a human and a machine? H m hm m hmmm.
Welcome to the question booth. My name is Dylan Fagin
and I'm Kathleen Quillian. Just a reminder that we're diving
(01:28):
deep into the interviews of our Question Booth participants for
a few weeks. So this is part one of our
exploration into the similarities and differences between humans and machines.
Next week we'll hear from an expert from a Question
Booth field trip. But more on that at the end
of the show. Yeah, because this week we want to
focus on the participants and exploring the pattern that developed
(01:48):
in the booth. The pattern that I started to see
was that almost everyone touched on the subject of artificial intelligence.
I was glad to know I was not alone in
my feelings about the complex world of AI and machine learning,
and for some context that the development of AI has
been growing at a rapid rate lately. Yes. So, according
(02:09):
to Stanford University's AI Index, there's been a fourteen time
increase in the number of active AI startups since two
thousand and the share of jobs requiring AI skills has
grown four point five times since two thousand thirteen. What
was it about AI that got people talking? What were
the differences that they pointed out? This week, most folks
(02:31):
struggled with the idea of machines having a soul or
a moral compass? Could a machine learn right from wrong?
So much of what makes us human are our life experiences.
Question Bruther's had a hard time believing a machine could
be programmed with the complex memories of a human. But
why don't we start off this week by hearing from
Sarah and Lauren. My opinion of the difference between a
(02:56):
human and a machine is that a human has the
ability to um use logic to make decisions. I think
the difference for me would be around like a moral compass,
like morality. I feel like you can program machine to
maybe even have something like logic, But I'm not sure
how you would teach a machine to react emotionally and
(03:18):
then like apply moral logic because a lot of times
the situation could feel black and white, but then there's
that moral aspect that's hard to define. Yeah, I do
think it's like that moral I don't know how you
would program that. I don't know. I just I think
it's just what would take someone's heart and put it
into a robot. So like, because I think morality is
(03:39):
like comprised of experiences, like you sort of see how
you when you do something, someone reacts back to you,
and then you're not going if you get an unfavorable reaction,
you're going to like auto correct yourself and say, like, well,
now I'm plugging this away into my morality bank and
next time I'm not going to do this. Oh. I
Like I've had this conversation a lot with some friends.
We're all in computers. But this idea that like robots
(04:03):
absolutely can replace like the majority, Like the technology is
already there. It's a matter I think of, like how
it's going to be released and implemented into the world
for the majority of a workforce to be replaced with robots.
And when that happened, the effect that it would have
on what money actually means, because you can't have a
society that's all of a sudden then based on money,
(04:24):
because people are not going to be working because these
robots can do it, and like governments can't allow large
portions of society to just not have jobs. So then
like in this future state world, like time becomes the
commodity that money once was, and like the robots to
all of your jobs, and then you have all of
this free time, and what do you do with your time?
(04:46):
Like I I see that being like time being the
most valuable commodity over money. Yeah. Also, another question I
have is do you think you could ever love a machine?
I would say would love what it is doing for me,
But I don't think you'd have that emotional connection where
you know you'd do anything for this machine as you
(05:08):
would for another human. Yeah. Um, I think that the
capacity to feel would be different, feel true emotions with
a machine as opposed to a human. So no, I
don't think that you could have the true love that
we experience with other people. Yeah, because it couldn't be
fully reciprocated, right. I hear the rum, but is like
the greatest thing since I spread and I'm just waiting
(05:30):
to get it. But I think I might fall in
love with it. I feel like they touched on something
that is a common theme when it comes to AI.
There's this fear that machines will replace us and our
jobs will become obsolete. I thought the time will become
the new commodity over money is an interesting concept or
aout my head around. Maybe they're like me and they're
watching way too much West World. Maybe, but AI is
(05:51):
hard to talk about. Sometimes they're conflicting views and varying
levels of awareness about what it does, and Elon Musk
recently tweeted about how artificial intelligence is more dangerous than
North Korea in his opinion. Statements like that can definitely
influence people's opinions on AI, for better or worse. He
also ended that tweet by saying that in the end,
the machines will win. That's pretty intense, just a bit. Yeah,
(06:17):
So when you have one of the most influential men
in AI telling you to be scared, how can you
not be? AI is so complex and I know, personally,
I still have a lot to learn after researching for
this episode, and AI has a lot to learn about you.
I'm just kidding, you know, I'm already scared. Okay, Okay,
(06:37):
let's move on to Randa and Justin. I feel like
the main differences, uh, humans have feelings, Humans have a conscience,
Humans can feel love, they can feel hurt, sadness. And
machines they are technological and they are just code pretty much.
I have a similar thing to that, I think in
terms of how we are in terms of just machines themselves.
(06:59):
I think you run kind of similar just and I
guess a little bit of a different way At the
same time, Yes, we are flesh and blood, but in
a way we are code in terms of DNA and
ourn'na and how that translates and compiles. I think how
we are in the adventages we have is the fact
that we are humans. We do have compassion, feelings, and
how we make our decisions. I think they're differently based
on how a program would where just execuse code versus
(07:22):
the students we make and what kind of changes that. Oh.
I love that perspective of I mean we technically our
code like breaking down certain DNA. That's very true. I
love that description. Um, what is your relationship with machines
and technology? My relationship, I'm actually a developer, so prior
to this, I do write code, and I do work machines,
(07:42):
build computers and do that and I t but for
my relationship it's a little bit different. I love it.
I've been doing this for like years and years among
those nerdy people who they just find a basement saying,
oh yeah, mom, just let me finished this code. In
terms of my relationship, I've loved it. I love technology
and seeing where it's come so far, and it's just
it's fantastic. And my relationship with technology is I have
(08:03):
an iPhone. Um, I can use Instagram and Google pretty well.
Um what else can I do? I can take pictures
of myself, So I'm pretty technologically savvy. You know that's awesome.
I'm pretty much on the same spectrum. Um, when did
your love for technology and code start? For me? It
started when I was probably I want to say, eight
(08:24):
years old. My family has always had a history of
like loving technology and how it's grown, and that's something
that my dad really instilled in me. He was like, Okay,
we're gonna sit down, We're gonna build you a computer.
At the time, though I was everywhere, I was like
all right, cool, oh something shine, and I would leave
like seconds later. But just that interest that he kind
of gave me early on kind of it's still stuck
with me. And just as a kid, I've had my
(08:46):
own computer I built, well, he helped me build if
I was there, so I was able to use that
to learn about websites and code and how that we're
going to interested me. It was really it wasn't so
much that it was how it worked interested me as
the creative outlet that allowed me to do because at
that time, it was more of a creative thing of Okay,
here's the point canvas. Let me fill it with stuff,
either it's text or images or something like that, allow
(09:07):
me kind of express myself. And from there I just
kind of started building. From there, I was like, Okay,
I can take this and I think I can make
a job or career out of it. And I was
able to do that, And it was really because of
my parents. They really helped me with that. They backed
me up. Yeah, that's incredible. It is. I don't think
a lot of people from the outside looking at UM
technology and coding see how creative it is, because it
(09:28):
really is. You're building something out of nothing and you
have to think outside the box of you know, how
to make things work and how to piece it together.
It's a lot of trial and error, um, but it's
so creative. I mean, you really have to like delve
deep into yourself and like different problem solving. Yeah, that's
like the biggest part. Any innovation really comes from trying
to solve a problem in terms of what we do.
(09:49):
Not's just in the city, but just everywhere. Instereads of
how can I make something better, how can I make
this easier? And just figure out a way to make
that work. Do you think you could ever love a machine?
I will say that I guess it's technically I don't
know if it really counts as a machine to me
and how I think of it. But I had such
a deep passionate love for my jeep man broke my
(10:11):
heart one I had to let it go. True story,
true story. I feel that I have a really really
old car and I'm just like holding my breath until
it's just no more. And I'm not even like a
car person, but I just like bonded with it and
I love it. I can understand that because people personalize
their cars. My car has a name. All of the
(10:32):
cars I've had have a name. So I guess people
can really love technology in a way like that, almost
like a pet there with you. Yeah, like almost every
day it's like asking, is your dog like a human?
Like it's it's a machine. Dog is a machine. But
it's like, you know you kind of like humanize exactly. Yeah,
we definitely do. And then also like all the memories
(10:53):
of that machine holds and just like what you've been
through with it, this is it took you people, it
brought you to other way, it's a relationship. May not
be like a personal won't like this, but it's a relationship.
He loves his car or his old car before it
Patty the Gee because he it brought him to me
many times. He had to drive like five miles in it.
(11:15):
That's probably why it's no longer here. It was worth
while when when it was gone, it was like he
was really it was. It was bad, it was rough,
a little bit of tears, a lot of it. That
(11:36):
was Randa and Justin and the question booth. We'll be
right back after this quick break. Mm hmmm, we're back
and let's jump into the booth to hear from Trent.
(11:58):
So obviously, the first thing comes of mind is the
difference between a human and a machine is conscious thought.
But also have you ever seen the movie Her? Yeah,
that's kind of like pushes the boundaries though of conscious thought, right,
it does. That kind of leads into my other question
is like, could you ever love a machine? No, I mean,
(12:19):
I think there's so much two different people. So, you know,
I've had the chance to live kind of throughout the
country and it's amazing how everywhere, you mean, different kind
of people. But it's all kind of the same. I
just like, I mean, every person has something different to offer.
I mean, I'm sure machine to an extent, but I
just don't think you get quite the depth or does
(12:40):
the machine have a past? Does it have stories? Because
I think that that's what most interests me about other
people is learning from what they've known, like what they've
endured exactly exactly, and like what things make them them.
But I don't know, it does seem like just the
last couple of years, technology is so far and like
(13:01):
with AI teaching machines how to learn and how to
be more human. It's interesting you say that. Last night
I met a guy who has a chip implanted in
his hand, so when you go to shake his right hand,
you can feel it because it's right here between his
thumb and his second finger, and it allows him to
unlock his house, and it allows him to unlock his phone.
(13:22):
I think he's working on so he can like start
his car and and everything like that. And it kind
of reminded me of like that's what we're doing at dogs, right,
we chip a dog so you can just scan them.
I work, and I work in rehab, so I deal
a lot with patients who have had strokes, brain injury,
spinal cord injuries, and the amount of technology seeing what
they're developing there for people who right now they're implanting
(13:45):
electrodes so that spinal cord injuries can move their arms, right,
But right now it's they have to be so close
to a computer that it's not really useful. They can't
go out into the community and use this technology yet.
So that's still being developed. But yeah, I mean I'm
excited it for all that stuff. Have you ever had
(14:08):
a prank call where you answer the phone, you say hello,
and it starts with the recording link You're like hey,
it just starts with him like hey, what are you doing?
And then you say, oh, nothing, just hanging out and
then it goes on like well, it just has random
set of prompts that automatically says anything you say. It
doesn't matter what you say. It's got like lines that
it goes through. So think about AI doing that to you,
(14:30):
Like a I will know what you're saying and know
how to reply to what you're saying. It's not like
you're talking to it asking it a question, but it
will just prompt automatically. Let's here another perspective. Here's Shelley,
(14:51):
A human and a machine. Okay. I believe that a
human has the five senses you can they can ext
variance touch, smell, taste here, and I think that there
have a conscious that helps UM decipher not just uh
(15:13):
mathematical or non reasoning impersonal information. I think a machine
definitely can do that with a computer. But the sense
of touch and smell and taste, you know, UM, aren't there.
There's I believe it's a little impersonal. I do think
that machines are good and that they can take out
(15:37):
some of the emotional aspects of their processes and UM decisions.
Do you think a human could love a machine? I do. Actually,
I know some people who have actually said they could
probably fall in love with an inanimate object easier than
they could a human being. UM in a machine, UM,
(16:01):
I think there's a lot of opportunity to work through
you know, some therapies and uh and for companionship. But
so I do think there are some people that are
capable of falling in love with an inanimate you know,
at a robot. What's your relationship with machines? Like, what
(16:23):
do you think your relationship is with it? I am
not a very technical person. I prefer in this day
and age, I would prefer to have a friend come
over then to text them or to you know, I
like talking on the phone. But I see the advantages
of it. Um. I could see like if you're homebound,
then having a robot or having a computer that you're
(16:44):
working with could be a good way to still communicate
and have a relationship in that situation. Um. But I
would see like, let's say you're working, you have a
situation with maybe it at work or a relative of
or a friend that you're trying to work out, and
you don't want to bring in another friend or another
(17:04):
coworker to discuss the issue. So if you had this
machine that you could say, can you believe that this
person did that and they treated me like this, and
then maybe the reply would come back again. It would
give you some perspective because you could that person may
agree with you or disagree with me, but you're not
gonna take it personally because it's a machine. Whereas if
(17:25):
you call your friend and you say you wouldn't believe
what happened at work today, they may say, well, maybe
you should try this, and then you get defensive um,
and then you might get mad at your friend because
you can't get the whole perspective. And I think if
it was a computer or machine, you would feel differently
about a machine telling you something. Then if it was
your friend, or your sister or your your child, you
(17:46):
wouldn't take it quiet as personally. You might be able
to gain some insight. Do you think in the future
there will be technology that will be able to mimic
humans in a sense of emotion or a consciousness. I
think so. I mean again, it's all program ammed via humans.
I think if you have the knowledge to dissect those
emotions and to be able to put it into um,
(18:09):
you know, some kind of electronic form. Yeah, I think
we're probably right around the corner from that. We you know,
you may not have a pet. You may have a
pet rock um. But again, with people that are alone,
maybe the elderly, I could definitely see that would be
very useful. And I think it's right around the corner.
(18:29):
I'm starting to understand where our participants are coming from.
Can a machine really have all of the emotions of
a human? My favorite part about the question booth are
the real life connections I make. I don't see how
a machine could take place of that. Our minds are
so vast and complex, how could that be condensed into code?
What do you think, Jillan, I think I totally agree
(18:51):
with you. Human emotion is very hard to synthesize as
far as I know at least, But I've been wrong
before and I'm just trying to stay optimistic and believe
that we're very hard to replace. Well, let's take a
quick break. We'll be back with more question booth m HM,
(19:13):
and we're back. Thanks for joining us, and we have
one more interview. This was by far one of my
favorite groups from the weekend. Here's Vicaria, Juliette, Andrew and Margaret.
It seems like it all circles around a question of
almost a soul. Well, that's how I'm trying to think,
Like what can humans do that you feel like machines
(19:33):
can never do? Like creativity? Can machines have what we
would consider like this concept of not doing what their
program to even the concept of learning like you know,
from experiences. That's not the same thing as conceptualizing, um,
you know, broader concepts and trying to kind of put
far reaching ideas together and creating analogies, and I feel
like that's something that's kind of uniquely human, like independence
(19:55):
almost yeah, or like even just conceptual thinking, Like I
don't know that machines. Even though the machines can think conceptually,
like they can write, they can think an abstract concepts
because like they could probably define for you the idea
of love, but do they understand it? They might memorize definitions,
but can they really like can they? Yeah? And it's
(20:16):
like they have robots that can recreate art and you're
an artist, part of your soul goes into your work,
but like, can this robot learn a new kind of art?
Could it be? Like conceptuals? Don't you think the most
beautiful art could be created by AI? It depends your
definition beauty, I think, right. But like what I mean
(20:36):
to say is, couldn't they take all the ideas humans
have come up with and then put them together and
change it so that it creates this completely new idea
that no human has ever come up with and then
be like, Wow, you have this amazing piece of art,
and then are you human because you made that art?
You think? So like that they haven't programmed to do
if they weren't programmed to take these pieces together and
(20:56):
put them to make this thing. It might be program
to show in site, but then they do that in
their own way. I think the unsettling thing I'm coming
to is that I'm a robot. Wow, they unpacked a
(21:20):
lot of amazing questions and ideas. I know I could
have listened to them for hours. I'm pretty sure they
continue to talk about the differences between a human and
a machine after they left the booth that day. That
is what we love about the question both we want
to spark conversation and reflection about a subject that our
participants might have never thought about. Is it weird to
say that I'm sad every time a group leaves the
(21:41):
booth I just want to hang out with them for
the rest of the day and keep talking. No, no, no, no,
I totally get weird coming from Okay good. I think
this is one of those weeks that we were left
with more questions than answers. But next week I think
we'll be able to clear up a lot of misconceptions
with our expert, Dr Mark Where, an associate professor at
(22:01):
Georgia Tech. Mhm m m M. And as always, we
want to know what you think, what is the difference
(22:22):
between a human and machine? For you, you can write
to us at the Question Both at House of Works
dot com or tweeted us at Question Underscore Booth with
your answer. I'd like to give us special thanks this
week to our executive producer, Julie Douglas, and we also
want to thank Pont City Market for hosting the Question both.
The Question Booth is written, edited and scored by me,
Dylan Fagan and my co host Kathleen Cillian, who wrote
(22:42):
a beautiful script this week. Thank you, Thanks Dylan, and
thanks to everyone who came into the booth and spoke
to me about this question. And if you're in Atlanta,
you can visit the Question Booth. We're on the second
floor Pont City Market twelve to five pm Friday through Sunday. Also,
if you like what you hear, we'd love if you
gave us a quicker view on iTunes. It helps other
(23:04):
people find the show. And as we mentioned, we'll be
talking more about the differences between humans and machines next
week with our expert, but until then, see you in
the Question Booth.
Hey, Dylan, what do you think of? When I say machine?
I think of something either really complex or really simple,
and something that's either really helpful or really frustrating. What
do you think of? Is it bad that I immediately
think of Westworld in the movie Her, where machines are
(00:20):
portrayed with such human like characteristics. So what's she like? Well,
and a Samantha and she's an operating system. She's really
complex and interesting. I'm sorry you're dating your troop shooter.
Do I watch too much TV? Yes? We know I
(00:42):
watched too much TV, but my binge watching led me
to really think about how our society views the machines
we use in our day to day life. They're starting
to become more human every day, they know our schedules,
are likes and dislikes when we talked to the most
and they're even starting to drive on our own. So
it got me thinking what are the real differences between us?
(01:04):
And that's what we're talking about today. We're listening to
the answers to the question what is the difference between
a human and a machine? H m hm m hmmm.
Welcome to the question booth. My name is Dylan Fagin
and I'm Kathleen Quillian. Just a reminder that we're diving
(01:28):
deep into the interviews of our Question Booth participants for
a few weeks. So this is part one of our
exploration into the similarities and differences between humans and machines.
Next week we'll hear from an expert from a Question
Booth field trip. But more on that at the end
of the show. Yeah, because this week we want to
focus on the participants and exploring the pattern that developed
(01:48):
in the booth. The pattern that I started to see
was that almost everyone touched on the subject of artificial intelligence.
I was glad to know I was not alone in
my feelings about the complex world of AI and machine learning,
and for some context that the development of AI has
been growing at a rapid rate lately. Yes. So, according
(02:09):
to Stanford University's AI Index, there's been a fourteen time
increase in the number of active AI startups since two
thousand and the share of jobs requiring AI skills has
grown four point five times since two thousand thirteen. What
was it about AI that got people talking? What were
the differences that they pointed out? This week, most folks
(02:31):
struggled with the idea of machines having a soul or
a moral compass? Could a machine learn right from wrong?
So much of what makes us human are our life experiences.
Question Bruther's had a hard time believing a machine could
be programmed with the complex memories of a human. But
why don't we start off this week by hearing from
Sarah and Lauren. My opinion of the difference between a
(02:56):
human and a machine is that a human has the
ability to um use logic to make decisions. I think
the difference for me would be around like a moral compass,
like morality. I feel like you can program machine to
maybe even have something like logic, But I'm not sure
how you would teach a machine to react emotionally and
(03:18):
then like apply moral logic because a lot of times
the situation could feel black and white, but then there's
that moral aspect that's hard to define. Yeah, I do
think it's like that moral I don't know how you
would program that. I don't know. I just I think
it's just what would take someone's heart and put it
into a robot. So like, because I think morality is
(03:39):
like comprised of experiences, like you sort of see how
you when you do something, someone reacts back to you,
and then you're not going if you get an unfavorable reaction,
you're going to like auto correct yourself and say, like, well,
now I'm plugging this away into my morality bank and
next time I'm not going to do this. Oh. I
Like I've had this conversation a lot with some friends.
We're all in computers. But this idea that like robots
(04:03):
absolutely can replace like the majority, Like the technology is
already there. It's a matter I think of, like how
it's going to be released and implemented into the world
for the majority of a workforce to be replaced with robots.
And when that happened, the effect that it would have
on what money actually means, because you can't have a
society that's all of a sudden then based on money,
(04:24):
because people are not going to be working because these
robots can do it, and like governments can't allow large
portions of society to just not have jobs. So then
like in this future state world, like time becomes the
commodity that money once was, and like the robots to
all of your jobs, and then you have all of
this free time, and what do you do with your time?
(04:46):
Like I I see that being like time being the
most valuable commodity over money. Yeah. Also, another question I
have is do you think you could ever love a machine?
I would say would love what it is doing for me,
But I don't think you'd have that emotional connection where
you know you'd do anything for this machine as you
(05:08):
would for another human. Yeah. Um, I think that the
capacity to feel would be different, feel true emotions with
a machine as opposed to a human. So no, I
don't think that you could have the true love that
we experience with other people. Yeah, because it couldn't be
fully reciprocated, right. I hear the rum, but is like
the greatest thing since I spread and I'm just waiting
(05:30):
to get it. But I think I might fall in
love with it. I feel like they touched on something
that is a common theme when it comes to AI.
There's this fear that machines will replace us and our
jobs will become obsolete. I thought the time will become
the new commodity over money is an interesting concept or
aout my head around. Maybe they're like me and they're
watching way too much West World. Maybe, but AI is
(05:51):
hard to talk about. Sometimes they're conflicting views and varying
levels of awareness about what it does, and Elon Musk
recently tweeted about how artificial intelligence is more dangerous than
North Korea in his opinion. Statements like that can definitely
influence people's opinions on AI, for better or worse. He
also ended that tweet by saying that in the end,
the machines will win. That's pretty intense, just a bit. Yeah,
(06:17):
So when you have one of the most influential men
in AI telling you to be scared, how can you
not be? AI is so complex and I know, personally,
I still have a lot to learn after researching for
this episode, and AI has a lot to learn about you.
I'm just kidding, you know, I'm already scared. Okay, Okay,
(06:37):
let's move on to Randa and Justin. I feel like
the main differences, uh, humans have feelings, Humans have a conscience,
Humans can feel love, they can feel hurt, sadness. And
machines they are technological and they are just code pretty much.
I have a similar thing to that, I think in
terms of how we are in terms of just machines themselves.
(06:59):
I think you run kind of similar just and I
guess a little bit of a different way At the
same time, Yes, we are flesh and blood, but in
a way we are code in terms of DNA and
ourn'na and how that translates and compiles. I think how
we are in the adventages we have is the fact
that we are humans. We do have compassion, feelings, and
how we make our decisions. I think they're differently based
on how a program would where just execuse code versus
(07:22):
the students we make and what kind of changes that. Oh.
I love that perspective of I mean we technically our
code like breaking down certain DNA. That's very true. I
love that description. Um, what is your relationship with machines
and technology? My relationship, I'm actually a developer, so prior
to this, I do write code, and I do work machines,
(07:42):
build computers and do that and I t but for
my relationship it's a little bit different. I love it.
I've been doing this for like years and years among
those nerdy people who they just find a basement saying,
oh yeah, mom, just let me finished this code. In
terms of my relationship, I've loved it. I love technology
and seeing where it's come so far, and it's just
it's fantastic. And my relationship with technology is I have
(08:03):
an iPhone. Um, I can use Instagram and Google pretty well.
Um what else can I do? I can take pictures
of myself, So I'm pretty technologically savvy. You know that's awesome.
I'm pretty much on the same spectrum. Um, when did
your love for technology and code start? For me? It
started when I was probably I want to say, eight
(08:24):
years old. My family has always had a history of
like loving technology and how it's grown, and that's something
that my dad really instilled in me. He was like, Okay,
we're gonna sit down, We're gonna build you a computer.
At the time, though I was everywhere, I was like
all right, cool, oh something shine, and I would leave
like seconds later. But just that interest that he kind
of gave me early on kind of it's still stuck
with me. And just as a kid, I've had my
(08:46):
own computer I built, well, he helped me build if
I was there, so I was able to use that
to learn about websites and code and how that we're
going to interested me. It was really it wasn't so
much that it was how it worked interested me as
the creative outlet that allowed me to do because at
that time, it was more of a creative thing of Okay,
here's the point canvas. Let me fill it with stuff,
either it's text or images or something like that, allow
(09:07):
me kind of express myself. And from there I just
kind of started building. From there, I was like, Okay,
I can take this and I think I can make
a job or career out of it. And I was
able to do that, And it was really because of
my parents. They really helped me with that. They backed
me up. Yeah, that's incredible. It is. I don't think
a lot of people from the outside looking at UM
technology and coding see how creative it is, because it
(09:28):
really is. You're building something out of nothing and you
have to think outside the box of you know, how
to make things work and how to piece it together.
It's a lot of trial and error, um, but it's
so creative. I mean, you really have to like delve
deep into yourself and like different problem solving. Yeah, that's
like the biggest part. Any innovation really comes from trying
to solve a problem in terms of what we do.
(09:49):
Not's just in the city, but just everywhere. Instereads of
how can I make something better, how can I make
this easier? And just figure out a way to make
that work. Do you think you could ever love a machine?
I will say that I guess it's technically I don't
know if it really counts as a machine to me
and how I think of it. But I had such
a deep passionate love for my jeep man broke my
(10:11):
heart one I had to let it go. True story,
true story. I feel that I have a really really
old car and I'm just like holding my breath until
it's just no more. And I'm not even like a
car person, but I just like bonded with it and
I love it. I can understand that because people personalize
their cars. My car has a name. All of the
(10:32):
cars I've had have a name. So I guess people
can really love technology in a way like that, almost
like a pet there with you. Yeah, like almost every
day it's like asking, is your dog like a human?
Like it's it's a machine. Dog is a machine. But
it's like, you know you kind of like humanize exactly. Yeah,
we definitely do. And then also like all the memories
(10:53):
of that machine holds and just like what you've been
through with it, this is it took you people, it
brought you to other way, it's a relationship. May not
be like a personal won't like this, but it's a relationship.
He loves his car or his old car before it
Patty the Gee because he it brought him to me
many times. He had to drive like five miles in it.
(11:15):
That's probably why it's no longer here. It was worth
while when when it was gone, it was like he
was really it was. It was bad, it was rough,
a little bit of tears, a lot of it. That
(11:36):
was Randa and Justin and the question booth. We'll be
right back after this quick break. Mm hmmm, we're back
and let's jump into the booth to hear from Trent.
(11:58):
So obviously, the first thing comes of mind is the
difference between a human and a machine is conscious thought.
But also have you ever seen the movie Her? Yeah,
that's kind of like pushes the boundaries though of conscious thought, right,
it does. That kind of leads into my other question
is like, could you ever love a machine? No, I mean,
(12:19):
I think there's so much two different people. So, you know,
I've had the chance to live kind of throughout the
country and it's amazing how everywhere, you mean, different kind
of people. But it's all kind of the same. I
just like, I mean, every person has something different to offer.
I mean, I'm sure machine to an extent, but I
just don't think you get quite the depth or does
(12:40):
the machine have a past? Does it have stories? Because
I think that that's what most interests me about other
people is learning from what they've known, like what they've
endured exactly exactly, and like what things make them them.
But I don't know, it does seem like just the
last couple of years, technology is so far and like
(13:01):
with AI teaching machines how to learn and how to
be more human. It's interesting you say that. Last night
I met a guy who has a chip implanted in
his hand, so when you go to shake his right hand,
you can feel it because it's right here between his
thumb and his second finger, and it allows him to
unlock his house, and it allows him to unlock his phone.
(13:22):
I think he's working on so he can like start
his car and and everything like that. And it kind
of reminded me of like that's what we're doing at dogs, right,
we chip a dog so you can just scan them.
I work, and I work in rehab, so I deal
a lot with patients who have had strokes, brain injury,
spinal cord injuries, and the amount of technology seeing what
they're developing there for people who right now they're implanting
(13:45):
electrodes so that spinal cord injuries can move their arms, right,
But right now it's they have to be so close
to a computer that it's not really useful. They can't
go out into the community and use this technology yet.
So that's still being developed. But yeah, I mean I'm
excited it for all that stuff. Have you ever had
(14:08):
a prank call where you answer the phone, you say hello,
and it starts with the recording link You're like hey,
it just starts with him like hey, what are you doing?
And then you say, oh, nothing, just hanging out and
then it goes on like well, it just has random
set of prompts that automatically says anything you say. It
doesn't matter what you say. It's got like lines that
it goes through. So think about AI doing that to you,
(14:30):
Like a I will know what you're saying and know
how to reply to what you're saying. It's not like
you're talking to it asking it a question, but it
will just prompt automatically. Let's here another perspective. Here's Shelley,
(14:51):
A human and a machine. Okay. I believe that a
human has the five senses you can they can ext
variance touch, smell, taste here, and I think that there
have a conscious that helps UM decipher not just uh
(15:13):
mathematical or non reasoning impersonal information. I think a machine
definitely can do that with a computer. But the sense
of touch and smell and taste, you know, UM, aren't there.
There's I believe it's a little impersonal. I do think
that machines are good and that they can take out
(15:37):
some of the emotional aspects of their processes and UM decisions.
Do you think a human could love a machine? I do. Actually,
I know some people who have actually said they could
probably fall in love with an inanimate object easier than
they could a human being. UM in a machine, UM,
(16:01):
I think there's a lot of opportunity to work through
you know, some therapies and uh and for companionship. But
so I do think there are some people that are
capable of falling in love with an inanimate you know,
at a robot. What's your relationship with machines? Like, what
(16:23):
do you think your relationship is with it? I am
not a very technical person. I prefer in this day
and age, I would prefer to have a friend come
over then to text them or to you know, I
like talking on the phone. But I see the advantages
of it. Um. I could see like if you're homebound,
then having a robot or having a computer that you're
(16:44):
working with could be a good way to still communicate
and have a relationship in that situation. Um. But I
would see like, let's say you're working, you have a
situation with maybe it at work or a relative of
or a friend that you're trying to work out, and
you don't want to bring in another friend or another
(17:04):
coworker to discuss the issue. So if you had this
machine that you could say, can you believe that this
person did that and they treated me like this, and
then maybe the reply would come back again. It would
give you some perspective because you could that person may
agree with you or disagree with me, but you're not
gonna take it personally because it's a machine. Whereas if
(17:25):
you call your friend and you say you wouldn't believe
what happened at work today, they may say, well, maybe
you should try this, and then you get defensive um,
and then you might get mad at your friend because
you can't get the whole perspective. And I think if
it was a computer or machine, you would feel differently
about a machine telling you something. Then if it was
your friend, or your sister or your your child, you
(17:46):
wouldn't take it quiet as personally. You might be able
to gain some insight. Do you think in the future
there will be technology that will be able to mimic
humans in a sense of emotion or a consciousness. I
think so. I mean again, it's all program ammed via humans.
I think if you have the knowledge to dissect those
emotions and to be able to put it into um,
(18:09):
you know, some kind of electronic form. Yeah, I think
we're probably right around the corner from that. We you know,
you may not have a pet. You may have a
pet rock um. But again, with people that are alone,
maybe the elderly, I could definitely see that would be
very useful. And I think it's right around the corner.
(18:29):
I'm starting to understand where our participants are coming from.
Can a machine really have all of the emotions of
a human? My favorite part about the question booth are
the real life connections I make. I don't see how
a machine could take place of that. Our minds are
so vast and complex, how could that be condensed into code?
What do you think, Jillan, I think I totally agree
(18:51):
with you. Human emotion is very hard to synthesize as
far as I know at least, But I've been wrong
before and I'm just trying to stay optimistic and believe
that we're very hard to replace. Well, let's take a
quick break. We'll be back with more question booth m HM,
(19:13):
and we're back. Thanks for joining us, and we have
one more interview. This was by far one of my
favorite groups from the weekend. Here's Vicaria, Juliette, Andrew and Margaret.
It seems like it all circles around a question of
almost a soul. Well, that's how I'm trying to think,
Like what can humans do that you feel like machines
(19:33):
can never do? Like creativity? Can machines have what we
would consider like this concept of not doing what their
program to even the concept of learning like you know,
from experiences. That's not the same thing as conceptualizing, um,
you know, broader concepts and trying to kind of put
far reaching ideas together and creating analogies, and I feel
like that's something that's kind of uniquely human, like independence
(19:55):
almost yeah, or like even just conceptual thinking, Like I
don't know that machines. Even though the machines can think conceptually,
like they can write, they can think an abstract concepts
because like they could probably define for you the idea
of love, but do they understand it? They might memorize definitions,
but can they really like can they? Yeah? And it's
(20:16):
like they have robots that can recreate art and you're
an artist, part of your soul goes into your work,
but like, can this robot learn a new kind of art?
Could it be? Like conceptuals? Don't you think the most
beautiful art could be created by AI? It depends your
definition beauty, I think, right. But like what I mean
(20:36):
to say is, couldn't they take all the ideas humans
have come up with and then put them together and
change it so that it creates this completely new idea
that no human has ever come up with and then
be like, Wow, you have this amazing piece of art,
and then are you human because you made that art?
You think? So like that they haven't programmed to do
if they weren't programmed to take these pieces together and
(20:56):
put them to make this thing. It might be program
to show in site, but then they do that in
their own way. I think the unsettling thing I'm coming
to is that I'm a robot. Wow, they unpacked a
(21:20):
lot of amazing questions and ideas. I know I could
have listened to them for hours. I'm pretty sure they
continue to talk about the differences between a human and
a machine after they left the booth that day. That
is what we love about the question both we want
to spark conversation and reflection about a subject that our
participants might have never thought about. Is it weird to
say that I'm sad every time a group leaves the
(21:41):
booth I just want to hang out with them for
the rest of the day and keep talking. No, no, no, no,
I totally get weird coming from Okay good. I think
this is one of those weeks that we were left
with more questions than answers. But next week I think
we'll be able to clear up a lot of misconceptions
with our expert, Dr Mark Where, an associate professor at
(22:01):
Georgia Tech. Mhm m m M. And as always, we
want to know what you think, what is the difference
(22:22):
between a human and machine? For you, you can write
to us at the Question Both at House of Works
dot com or tweeted us at Question Underscore Booth with
your answer. I'd like to give us special thanks this
week to our executive producer, Julie Douglas, and we also
want to thank Pont City Market for hosting the Question both.
The Question Booth is written, edited and scored by me,
Dylan Fagan and my co host Kathleen Cillian, who wrote
(22:42):
a beautiful script this week. Thank you, Thanks Dylan, and
thanks to everyone who came into the booth and spoke
to me about this question. And if you're in Atlanta,
you can visit the Question Booth. We're on the second
floor Pont City Market twelve to five pm Friday through Sunday. Also,
if you like what you hear, we'd love if you
gave us a quicker view on iTunes. It helps other
(23:04):
people find the show. And as we mentioned, we'll be
talking more about the differences between humans and machines next
week with our expert, but until then, see you in
the Question Booth.
The Question Booth News
Hosts And Creators
Dylan Fagan
Kathleen Quillian
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