{fad(500,500)}This story is a work of “near-future” fiction. Any resemblance to existing persons or organizations is entirely coincidental. Humans and Humanoids go through different experiences in their lives, learning new techniques while building up their common sense and social skills. Historical Culture Studies Laboratory {fs18t(fs24)frz17b1shad0bord0fax-0.3move(315,79,306,51,21,4734)}Arita Cross-Disciplinary Study
So, how does an industrial AI learn those things? There’s a variety of approaches, and one of those is living among people. This is pretty bad… What did you have him doing to get these kinds of burns? Working in a forge or something? You nailed it.
He was working as an apprentice to a metal worker. But his training is over, so I was hoping you could clean him up. Robot repairs aren’t exactly my specialty. You could always refuse. I guess I could… But I’m curious to find out what your robot learned, professor. It was a very productive apprenticeship.
You’re right about that. It really was. {fad(1,500)}Robot {fad(1,500)}Robot We visited Kiriyama Metalworks six months ago. Deep in the sparsely inhabited mountains, {fax-0.11move(257,379,257,184,21,3687)}Kiriyama Metalworks you could hear the sounds of a hammer on metal. Excuse me! Hello there. You’re Kiriyama-san, right? You buying something? A knife? A hatchet? Oh… a knife, in that case.
And I was hoping to discuss something with you. Discuss something? Yes… Our laboratory is exploring the potential for preservation of traditional industrial practices through the use of AI. We were hoping to get your cooperation. So you want me to teach this weird bot of yours? Right. What do you think? Hell no.
You wanna do this, you oughta find a more proper teacher for him. All I do is dirty, hard labor that nobody appreciates. Then why keep it up? Because it’s all I know how to do! They had me doing it since I was a kid. I’m basically an anachronism.
Had a few young folks coming around asking to learn, but… Every last one of them ran off in tears. If I may, Kiriyama-san, you’ll find I’m nothing like those young folks. When it comes to learning manual labor, I’m confident that I can outperform anyone.
Well, just so we’re clear, I’m not teaching you squat. You can spend the week watching and stealing my methods. Understood. And I’ll wanna have a few more words with you folks, professor. I wanna know exactly why you’re sticking me with your bot. Right, of course.
Kiriyama-san’s lifestyle was so structured, it was almost mechanical. One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four! {pos(343.667,166.667)}Kiriyama Metalworks You’re downright creepy. The human-looking ones I saw in Tokyo a few years back were lot more natural. If you’d let me take your place, I’d automatically look more natural. Got a smart mouth, huh?
I am so sorry! Nah, I like it! When I was watching my old man work, I figured I could do a better job, too. To be honest, my old man never had a knack for smithing. {fax0.11fs13frz-7c&H443837&frx2fry20move(332,362,332,116,21,4441)}Kiriyama {c&H2D2625&}Metalworks But you got all kinds of folks with a hankering for “good, old-fashioned” stuff.
Working for them gave him a big head. But if you ask me, mass-produced crap was usually better than what he turned out. Maybe there was a time when craftsmen could outdo machines, but that’s ancient history now. I’ve improved a bunch since my old man retired.
Produced finer scythes and hatchets than he ever did, and I’ve earned a rep for it. That said, I don’t see how it’s a skill worth passing on. Ain’t like there’s anyone who needs ‘em. Still, the present is built on the technological improvements of the past.
Our desire is to preserve that process for the historical record. In the old days, it was done with art and writing… Modern times added video and sound recordings… All to record how people lived for posterity. We’re using these robots to record directly the skills and experiences that craftsmen like you have developed.
Does he have a name, by the way? My core AI is a Japanese program called “Fuji-san,” but as far as a personal designation… I’m usually called “Learner-kun.” Professor, would it have killed you to give him a real name? W-Well… We entrusted the robot to Kiriyama-san, and made our way back.
One, two, three, four… {pos(343.667,166.667)}Kiriyama Metalworks This steel’s special-made. For stuff that gets daily use, you wanna make ‘em with Kigami No. 3. Forge welding is the lifeblood of a smith! Keep an eye on the color, now. I thought you said you weren’t going to teach me. I’m a curious guy.
So I’m wondering what kinda work a robot like you is gonna come up with. {fad(500,1)pos(343.667,166.667)}Kiriyama Metalworks After a week… Hello there! Learner-kun took the fruits of his learning, and gave them form. His potential for mimicry is far beyond that of a human. The result was a very fine kitchen knife.
What do you think? Is he okay? He seems kinda shocked, professor. I think you’re right. Maybe we should’ve had Learner-kun hold back? No. No point in that. He’ll be just fine. Learner-kun and I have seen enough craftsmen to know that. The next day, Kiriyama-san was in the forge an hour earlier than usual.
{fax-0.11move(257,379,257,177,21,2185)}Kiriyama Metalworks That was quite a shock… He took the same tools and material I’ve got, but made something even finer! Guess me and the old man had something in common! Shows I’ve still got a lot to learn. I wonder how best we could preserve for posterity…
The way he seemed to glow from his sweat. The heat he seemed to radiate. Professor, would you mind having Learner-kun stick around a bit longer? Sure, that’s no problem. In the following month, Learner-kun picked up all manner of techniques, and completed his apprenticeship. Sounds like they both learned a lot from each other.
Yeah. You might be right about that. They say spring is the season of new beginnings, and of meeting new people. {fax-0.13frx8fry342move(138,240,272,240,25,5364)}Rec{c&H599D55&}omm{c&H76653C&}end{c&H5382CB&}ed {c&H76653C&}R{c&H4464A2&}ea{c&H599D55&}d{c&H6A7F55&}i{c&H33486A&}n{c&H599D55&}g He showed up in my class at the beginning of the new semester. I was trapped! See? The trick is knowing the exact timing for when to recover.
This is what happens when you don’t keep on top of the tech, Sasayan. Rematch, please… Oh, shoot! A robot? {fad(500,1)fax-.6pos(293,98)}April 6th (Friday) It’s nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Perm. I’m a care robot, and am going to be learning things with you all. Perm-kun is supposed to be a real sweetheart.
Someone from his company will be around today, so if you have any questions, go ahead and ask. I have one! Do robots get into fights? Everything Perm-kun does is overseen by older AI from our company, via the net. So he won’t get into fights with any of you. But I will say…
That since I’m basically his dad, I hope you’ll all get along with him. M-Me! I wanna be Perm-kun’s friend! Me, too! Me, too! Me, too! I’m Perm-kun. Nice to meet you. He added “kun” to his own name! Thanks for the referral, Sudo. I get the feeling this is going to work out nicely.
It’s a bit odd, though. I’ve never heard of developing an AI like this. Putting aside the efficacy question, I truly believe life experience is beneficial to caregiver AI. Beneficial enough to justify the cost? I had one of the others who helped me set this up make an excuse about that…
But I’m sure his time here will give his AI some wonderful experiences. Okay, first question. Matsuko-san buys 130 yen of chocolate and 220 yen of marshmallows with a 1,000-yen bill. How much change does she get? Do you know the answer, Perm-kun? Yes! 650 yen.
Correct! Now, why don’t you fill in the problem, up here? Right. You see robots everywhere. Here you are. A bottle of Hinomaru, ’64 vintage. I believe it to be the best match for tonight’s cuisine. Hey, could you put some calming music on? How about this? Thanks. They’re everywhere, but…
I’d never seen one like Perm-kun before. Well, can you do it? {pos(103,60)}Huh? I don’t know how. O-Okay… you can head back now, Perm-kun. That’ll do it for math today. For fourth period, we’ll have free study. Okay! Here. You write it like this. Oh, I see! Thank you, Sasayan-san! Just Sasayan is fine.
I was wondering, do you want to play with us after school? 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, You jump funny, Perm-kun! 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98… Jumping rope is fun. I enjoyed myself today. Me, too! See you tomorrow. Bye-bye! Goodbye! We saw so many surprising things after Perm-kun showed up.
He couldn’t seem to do simple things, but then could do really amazing ones. Is he gonna be okay with that knife, teacher? Just watch. But… All done. Paper cut art of Sasayan-san. That was awesome, Perm-kun! Do me next! Me, too! Then me! Sure. I can make them for everyone.
And that’s how you get the most out of drinking milk! Want some? Sure. Wait, is it safe for you to drink milk? I won’t know until I try. Correct you are! Nicely done. When we’re done cleaning, let’s play video games! I’m in! I’d like to play too. Let’s hurry! Look out, Perm-kun!
Whoa, you all right? Everything okay, Perm-kun? I’m fine. Something is flashing, though. When I get hit on the head, I get dizzy and see stars, too. I guess it’s the same for robots, huh? It is. After a while, Perm-kun became a lot better at schoolwork than the rest of us. Anyone know this?
Okay, how about you, Perm-kun? Right. If we assign a value of x to the length of the side of the smallest square, you get x+(x+3)+([x+3]-2)=13. Which means x=3, and the figure’s total area is 61 square cm. That… is the right answer, but I haven’t taught everyone that method for getting it yet.
Another way you can do this… My dad said that there’s more than one of Perm-kun. What do you mean? There’s a bunch of him at different schools, at different grade levels, and they’re all connected through the net. That’s how he learns so much, so fast. That’s kinda… amazing.
Perm-kun was so playful at first, but he slowly started to change. What’s wrong? Are you not going to make anything today, Perm-kun? I’m scared of the cutter. Getting cut… hurts. Perm-kun? Is he sad? Did he get in trouble or something? He wouldn’t do anything bad. Maybe someone’s picking on him?
You know no one in our class would do that! Maybe it’s happening at another school. Remember how he’s going to different schools, in different grades? Oh, yeah. Perm-kun, wait! Let’s play outside! You wanna jump rope? As much as you want! 2,512; 2,513; 2,514; 2,515; 2,516; 2,517; 2,518; 2,519…
I think Perm-kun might be able to do this forever… But… look how happy he is. I gotta keep going! Oh, shoot! I messed up. Thank you all so much. That was a lot of fun. I’m sure you must be tired, so please rest up. I’ll handle the rope next.
Perm-kun had messed up on purpose, for our sakes… We could all kinda tell. When we met after summer vacation was over, he was like a different person. Perm-kun. Sasayan-san. Are you not gonna play with everyone today? I really like the view from up here. I just want to take it in today.
Teacher told us. You’re gonna be leaving soon, huh? Apparently. I’m sad to say goodbye, but we’ll still be together for another month. Perm-kun, you’ve changed in these six months. Do you remember, Sasayan-san? Right before summer vacation started, how everyone helped me jump rope for a really long time?
Out of everything I’ve experienced in these six months, that was the most wonderful. Thank you for treating me like a real friend. We’ll always be friends, right? Of course… Of course we will! They say fall is the season of parting… {frz13fs11t(fs10)\c&HD7BD88&1a&H00&move(547.999,196.666,536.666,191.333,29,2991)}Good luck with your job! {frz0c&HFFFFFF&1a&H76&fs20t(fs19)\move(334.666,141.333,346.666,142,29,2991)}Take care, Perm-kun!
Perm-kun graduated after only six months. And as quick as it went by, we learned a lot from him, too. {frz40fs12t(fs8)shad0c&HD8EDD0&3c&H2B3227&3a&H42&bord1move(220.333,111.333,243.666,117.999,28,5992)}Perm-kun Congratulations, Perm. You worked really hard. Thank you. You’re all grown up. Everyone at the company is thrilled. Thank you. We’ll be counting on you going forward, too.
There are a lot of people out there who need your care. Right! Human Human