English Language VI
Debate 3: Inventions
Members:
C:
ST-LVIC-G3-1
ST-LVIC-G3-2
ST-LVIC-G3-3
ST-LVIC-G3-4
ST-LVIC-G3-5
A:
ST-LVIA-G3-6
ST-LVIA-G3-7
ST-LVIA-G3-8
ST-LVIA-G3-9
Discussion Leader:
DL-LVI-G3-1
DL-LVI-G3-2
· ST-LVIA-G3-6
Hi,everyone!!! I ‘d like to start this fòrum with this icebreaking question ,in which field do you think are most needed inventions? In health,perhaps?
· ST-LVIC-G3-4
Hello everyone! I’m ST-LVIC-G3-4 and I’m studying Translation. This topic is very interesting. Inventions are really important in our lives, since we use them daily. Everything we use has been invented for someone else in the past. Do you think the inventors really could get to know the impact their inventions have now in our lives? What were they thinking about when they came up with these great ideas? Do you think it took them look?
As a reply to ST-LVIA-G3-6, I would like to say that health is a very good example of how inventions changed our lives for the better. All the improvements made in health allow us now to live longer and healthier. Nevertheless, there are still things to discover in this field in order to cure terminal illnesses.
I’m looking forward to reading new comments.
· ST-LVIC-G3-3
Hello there! My name is ST-LVIC-G3-3 and I’m ST-LVIC-G3-4’s classmate in Translation Studies from Universitat de València.
First of all, I would like to point out that, in general (at least me and people related to me) we are not even close to know how many invents are there nowadays. Scientists and technicians are developing new gadgets every now and then and «regular» people, like us, don’t have access to them or even an opportunity to know them. Perhaps is it because they are not for a daily use? Maybe because they are too expensive? What do you think?
Regarding ST-LVIA-G3-6’s question, I guess I agree with both, ST-LVIA-G3-6 and ST-LVIC-G3-4, when we say health is the most important and innovative field for inventions. Specially since technology is growing so fast that the job of a surgeon can now be done by a machine! I think it is incredible.
I would love to know what you think about all this.
· ST-LVIC-G3-4
Hi again, I just read ST-LVIC-G3-3’s comment. I never thought about it that way. I guess it is true- there are many inventions we don’t even know about, maybe because they are made for very specific purposes or fields.
This is my suggestion: should we try to find some of these new gadgets that are not very common? just to see how interesting or boring they are.
I also would like to know more inventions that may make our lives easier that we don’t know yet.
Are you in? 😉
· ST-LVIC-G3-2
Hello everyone! I’m ST-LVIC-G3-2 and I’m also studying Translation Studies in Valencia.
I have read all your comments and I agree when you say that this topic is very interesting. I have realised that it can lead us to a very interesting discussion.
As ST-LVIC-G3-4 said, we use inventions every day in our current life even without being aware of it, and thanks to them we actually can use the Internet or even write and read. With this, I am referring not just to the brand-new and futuristic inventions that, as ST-LVIC-G3-3 said, there are plenty of them that we don’t know, but to the inventions which had changed our world as for example the invention of the printing press.
ST-LVIC-G3-4 just proposed to search new uncommon inventions or/and inventions that could do our lives easier, and I think that it really is a very good idea. Obviously, it goes without saying that I’m in. However, I would like to go in another way and I would like to propose you too a search: it would be interesting to find past inventions that changed people’s life and that we are still using nowadays.
I’m looking forward to reading your inventions.
· ST-LVIC-G3-2
+ ST-LVIC-G3-4
Hi there!
I’ve just found a new invention that would really amaze you. Do you remember the invisibility cloak of Harry Potter? Well, it excites me to announce you that it has already been created.
It is not a cloak but a beam, but it makes more or less the same function as Harry Potter’s cloak. It has been developed by the researchers from the University of Vienna. It consists in using a beam, like a laser, and shining it onto a material above to pump it full of energy. This alters material’s properties, making the object transparent.
I am not sure about its usefulness but it is absolutely interesting and shows the astonishing development society can do nowadays. It is such impressive the progress that we can even create things that only some months ago were fictitious elements.
I leave you here the link where I found this information in case you want to read more about it: livescience.com – Live Science
Live Science
livescience.com
· DL-LVI-G3-1
Hello everyone sorry I am late! My name is DL-LVI-G3-1 I am one of the discussion leaders. I am from Kent in the UK and have been really interested in reading you conversations.
1) Inventions to do with health is a very controversial topic but also very interesting. It’s controversial because it involves things such as animal testing and there are many theories that scientists have found the cure for certain terminal illnesses however due to financial reasons it has never been released. As I say this is a common theory however it is realistic.
2) Yes you’re also correct that there are always inventions being made a lot of the time it isn’t released to the public because it’s either unnecessary, however most of the time it is due to the fact that they are too expensive.
3) That invisible beam is incredible!
I believe that inventions are incredible because of the brain power that goes into them, but inventions such as robots which have been becoming increasingly popular are very detrimental to society. I have attached a Guardian article which shows an Amazon shop that has no people working there it’s all self-checkout and although the machines aren’t specifically robots, they do the same in putting people out of employment to replace them with technology.
theguardian.com – Amazon’s first checkout-free grocery store opens on Monday | Business | The Guardian
Amazon’s first checkout-free grocery store opens on Monday | Business | The Guardian
theguardian.com
· ST-LVIA-G3-6
Hi everyone,I’m ST-LVIA-G3-6 and I study English language.I find your comments very interesting
Other day,I read a report about a chef robot which is used to cook burguers in places as MacDonald’s .My doubt is this invention an advantatge or a disadvantage in the sense It could supply man jobs? Where is the límits for invention???
· ST-LVIC-G3-2
Hi everyone!
It’s completely true what you are pointing out. Technology development is helping us and making our lives easier in a lot of ways. However, it is also true that they have some disadvantages. One of them is what you have been saying in your recent comments: Man has been replaced from his work every now and then, and it seems that it is going to continue happening. It is alarming the fact that we are not even close of knowing when it is going to stop. Now, all we know is that we can create and control them, but, will robots someday control our lives?
· ST-LVIC-G3-4
I feel like technology and new inventions are inevitable. Everything you guys say is true: robots or machines are now taking away jobs that could be done by a human.
But I would like you to take a look back in time, when people worked in factories, for example, closing boxes. Probably, if you were about to go to a boxes factory right now, you would probably not see many humans around. It’s not something that will happen in the future but something that has already started happening a few years ago.
What I think is: maybe those jobs are taken away from people, but don’t you think many people and minds are needed to create and develop these machines? It’s a new kind of job. We stop working with our hands and start working with our minds. But… where is the limit?
(I don’t mean robots are the solution to our lives, but it’s a fact and we have to look at the bright side)
· ST-LVIC-G3-3
+ ST-LVIC-G3-2 + ST-LVIC-G3-4 I totally agree with ST-LVIC-G3-4’s point, and we recently talked about this in our lecture. Nowadays machines and robots are taking tasks which were usually done by humans and now, the latter are responsible for their development.
If we, as translators, are worried about our future career (which is quite reasonable considering the high quality of Google translator), we should change our mind and reflect on what an we actually do about it. Maybe our future is related to the development of these kind of tools that indeed help us in our tranlation labor.
What do you think about our roles in the future with regard to the new technologies and invents?
· ST-LVIC-G3-1
+ ST-LVIC-G3-2 Hello everyone! My name is ST-LVIC-G3-1 and I’m also studying Translation Studies in the University of Valencia.
I’ve read all your posts and I couldn’t agree with you more. The health field is one of the most important fields when talking about inventions. Thanks to inventions as you have already said, our life is much better than before, but I also agree with ST-LVIC-G3-2 about the disadvantages that we can find in the evolution of technology. People will be replaced in some jobs, but what I think is that we should adapt our way of living to this evolution and try to live with it. What do you think?
I’m looking forward to your comments!
· ST-LVIC-G3-3
+ ST-LVIC-G3-1 of course we will adapt, we have always done! And I think we must be open-minded to these kind of changes, with I consider necessary and inevitable.
Specially In the field of health we can’t help but accept them and find their advantages, and they are many as we are increasingly living longer and longer.
Maybe scientist should focus more on ‘undeveloped’ countries, where inventions and improvements are more necessary. However, from my point of view the pharmaceutical industry is not quite interested in stopping pandemic diseases in those countries, obviously for economic reasons. Do you agree?
· ST-LVIC-G3-1
+ ST-LVIC-G3-3 I totally agree with you. Pandemic diseases in «undeveloped» countries is a way in which they earn a lot of money. And also, I think that diseases such as cancer make these companies richer. Moreover, someday we all have to die and pharmaceutical industry can’t find a cure for all the diseases which we can find nowadays. So, from my point of view, I think that the States aren’t interested neither in finding cures for the diseases, considering that we live more years, they will have to pay us for a pension longer. What do you think?
On the other hand, I would like to introduce another topic. What do you think about artificial intelligence? I know, we have already talked that some inventions have replaced humans in some jobs. But, what do you think about a robot? Do you think that these machines are dangerous or will they help us to progress?
I would like to recommend a film I watched which is called Ex-machina. It’s about a robot and the possibility of this machine to feel feelings like love.
· ST-LVIA-G3-6
Hello,I was reading the last comments and find them quite interesting.My humble opinion is that nowadays we could not live whithout the actual inventions we know and use them in any field.But in the other hand I am sure that man will not be replaced ever by any robot
· ST-LVIC-G3-2
+ ST-LVIC-G3-1 + ST-LVIA-G3-6
It is quite obvious for almost everybody, at least at this moment, that humans can’t be replaced by robots because of our capacity to feel emotions. There is a general thought that even if robots could feel something, it would not be as humans feelings. However, what frightens me is the possibility of these ‘machines’ not to love but to hate. We create them but there has been more than one situation that machines have overcome human intelligence. For example, that time when a computer won to the worldwide winner of chees playing this game. Maybe we should think about morality issues but also about different possibilities of them replacing us in this life. I know, it sounds exaggerating, but with Anna’s possibility of robots having the capacity of feel and the reality that machines can be more intelligent than us, it really makes me feel afraid. It is true that maybe artificial intelligence can help in many ways, but I also think that it is dangerous.
Don’t you feel in the same way?
· ST-LVIA-G3-9
Hello everyone!
My name is ST-LVIA-G3-9, and I’m studying English Studies in the University of Valencia.
I’ve been reading all your comments and I must say that I mostly agree with what has been talked about. Talking about inventions englobes a wide topic which aims to ease our lives, but it also can be dangerous for us and for the world we live in.
Specifically, when mentioning robots there is a particular case that comes to my mind. This case is about Sophia, a robot which was declared a citizen of Saudi Arabia. «She» is the most intelligent robot ever created and is continually learning, even claims to have feelings.
Personally, I find it as fascinating as scary. Without any doubt, it is a big step to what await for us in the future, but do we really need it?
About what has been questioned before, I think that if the inventors play to be gods they could blind themselves. What if they teach robots to improve themselves without any help? What if because of an algorithm, a programmation mistake or a bad conception robots begin to rebel against humans? Or even to lie about supposed feelings to experimentate and learn from us.
I don’t like the idea of giving such a power to artifical intelligence, because the moment robots become autosufficient with access to the Internet, the moment all our secrets will be exposed to something that we are not sure if it is going to benefit us or to harm us.
I’m going to put here a couple of links about Sophia: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zarastone/2017/11/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sophia-the-worlds-first-robot-citizen/#1387317446fa
youtube.com – We Talked To Sophia — The AI Robot That Once Said It Would ‘Destroy Humans’
What do you think about this robot?
I’ll be looking forward to read your comments.
We Talked To Sophia — The AI Ro
bot That Once Said It Would ‘Destroy Humans’
· ST-LVIC-G3-4
+ ST-LVIA-G3-9 you have a point. It’s frightening to think of what could happen if any mistake in robots was made. It makes me think of the Planet of the Apes but with robots. Things can go wrong and we must be careful… but right now it’s more of a trend to create robots, probably without thinking about the consequences it might bring.
· ST-LVIA-G3-6
I have assisted today at «Dystopian Worlds» conference at our uni.And so,I think that mankind is capable to do great things but also horrible ones.We must use inventions for our benefit in the good sense.
· DL-LVI-G3-1
Hello everyone! Sorry I’m late. Some really good points, we do have to be open-minded and accept that ultimately robots will play a significant role in our future! My own personal fear is that robots will become as intelligent and emotional as people and will stop contributing positively to our society. However going back to healthcare there are some robots which will really create a positive impact such as the one in the following article. forbes.com – This Healthcare Companion Robot Will Remind You To Take Your Medicine
as they’re not burdening
society or causing any damage.
This Healthcare Companion Robot Will Remind You To Take Your Medicine
forbes.com
· ST-LVIA-G3-9
In my opinion, if we focus our research improving useful and practical robots we are going to improve the quality of our lives. These creations (as the Healthcare Companion Robot) are worth of all the work they involve as long as somebody needs them. But I don’t really believe that spending time and effort in creating imitations of human beings is a good idea.
Trying to imitate our own image and behaviour is like playing to be a god and that is dangerous. Whether it is necessary or not is another point. I don’t really think we need something like that but for showing off the extent of our abilities.
As I read in the light of the earlier comments, I guess the ambit of health is the one that can take most advantage of investigation, because health is the most important thing we have to take care of and as living creatures we are pretty susceptible to sicknesses and to the passing of the years.
One day I watched a documentary about an association between the NASA and Google. They were talking about a device they were working on, capable to analyze the DNA of a person and making known all the illnesses this person could suffer over the years.
On the other hand, I read an article about a holographic robot that has been created to play the role of a «girlfriend». It even can be connected to the house to open the windows, to keep a good temperature, etc.
What DL-LVI-G3-1 says makes a lot of sense, so although I completely agree with further developments on health robotics, I’m reluctant to the idea of replacing the role of a real person with a robot. Maybe I wouldn’t think the same at some specific cases, but in general terms I believe that it could keep humans apart and, in a nutshell, impoverish social contact and even create irrational thoughts and fears regarding real interactions.
This is the holographic robot I have mentioned: mirror.co.uk – Hologram ‘robot girlfriend’ texts you throughout the day – but is she romantic or incredibly creepy?
What do you think about this kind of role expected in robots? Is it really necessary?
Hologram ‘robot girlfriend’ texts you throughout the day – but is she romantic or incredibly creepy?
mirror.co.uk
· ST-LVIC-G3-2
Hello everyone!
I don’t have a lot to add to all you have already said. I couldn’t agree more with you when you said that we shouldn’t try to make robots to seem like us. As you said, it could be really dangerous to make robots act and feel like us; a little mistake could become a disastrous fate. Just thinking about this horrible idea makes me shiver.
Instead of that I think that we should try not to do create machines that could make us more harm than good, and to try to make progress but going towards other ways. There are a countless number of things that can be done to improve the quality of our lifes and our health. So, maybe that intelligence, time and money spent in investigations that could harm us and would not help us substantially, could be invested in other kind of researches that would contribute much more positively.
· DL-LVI-G3-1
Yes! Very well put, we should not create imitations, as you implied it’s unnecessary and lack benefit and I imagine a lot of human beings would be very reluctant on being around them.
As there’s not a lot more to add i’m sharing an article about inventions used to increase life expectancy, what are your views on these? Should human beings be concerned about elderly people so much so that they are willing to fund inventions in order to increase their life expectancy?
I look forward to hearing from you all!
· ST-LVIA-G3-9
Increasing life expectancy looks like an appealing idea. I’m sure that most all the people agree with that as commonly people desire to live longer and better.
Personally I would focus first on results which could heal current sicknesses because I have some respect to «natural cycles» regarding lifespan in terms of world balance. This project between the NASA and Google I mentioned before also claimed that in some years immortality was going to be a fact and they sounded so excited about it. They said «if somebody wants to die, it will be their decision», and I know that a lot of people dream about that, but for me sounds a bit morbid, specially when I think about the impact and consequences on our world.
A thing they achieved is to freeze living beings for some time and then revive them. They said it was a success but they weren’t allowed to practise with humans because it was against law. Their idea was to freeze people with incurable sicknesses and then revive them when having found the cure.
This idea sounds good for me, but what about living forever? Would you be part of something like that? I think that at some point I would feel tired of living or senseless.
· ST-LVIC-G3-1
+ ST-LVIA-G3-9 I absolutely agree with you. I also would be tired of living if immortality existed. However, I think that immortality is not a possibility nowadays. Maybe, a few years from now it’s possible, but not now. Besides, I think the idea of immortality would only be a choice for rich people considering that pharmacies or the companies which could create it, would benefit from the amount of money that people would be able to pay. The fear of death is something that everybody feels, the fear of not existing anymore. If you got the chance of living forever, would you take the opportunity?
· DL-LVI-G3-1
As you said immortality may sound like a really appealing concept for many people however for me personally it’s all based on your quality of life, there’s no use in living a really long life if you’re not happy or if you’re really sick. I personally believe that if anything is to be invented regarding health it should be applied to terminal illnesses as they cover all ages and it’s not so much based on life span.
· ST-LVIC-G3-1
I would like to ask you a question which has been in mind lately. Which invention do you think that it’s the most important one in our lives? In my case, I couldn’t live without electricity. Without electricity, there are some things that wouldn’t exist nowadays such as computers or television.
· ST-LVIA-G3-9
ST-LVIC-G3-1, you are spot on. I think the same, electricity has played an enormous role in our lives. We use it for multiple things as to keep a good temperature in our houses, being independent from day light in order to keep working, develop another kind of inventions, etc. Living without electricity would be pretty difficult nowadays because we are adapted to it and we have evolved alongside with its help.
As a philologist I guess that I should mention the invention of the printing press. I hardly can imagine how would be studying without books, although with the Internet it seems that currently it is possible, but the evolution of the academic world wouldn’t have been the same.
I was thinking about a question which was made time ago about if inventions could affect jobs because it is something related to our profession. Have you ever heard about this device which translates on the go what is being said?
awesomestuff365.com – Awesome Stuff 365
As I’ve seen, it seems that there are different brands which are developing this kind of device.
Do you think it could replace translators in the future?
Awesome Stuff 365
awesomestuff365.com
· DL-LVI-G3-1
I agree electricity is the most important because it’s used everywhere and all the time and overtime scientists have found more ecological ways of using it so it’s doesn’t have as much of a negative impact as it used to.
In regards to translators, everyone uses them even language students, for me personally it’s not beneficial because as a language student its give me less job opportunities because linguists are less in demand, however it is an incredible thing that people will be easily able to communicate with one another and also learn more!
· ST-LVIA-G3-6
I also agree with both of you electricity is an important invention .But I like all the inventions related to improve life quality of humankind.I mean when there was to regulate public water in the cities and specially drinkable water.And how about the invention of the water closet in the houses? It was an important mean to erradicate illness of that time.
· ST-LVIC-G3-1
Oh, that’s right. I have forgotten about water closet. In our daily lives, having hot water and potable water in our taps is very important. I can’t imagine having a shower with cold water.
I also would like to talk about the post of translation machines. From my point of view, in some years from now, machines will be better than now, but us, translators, should learn how to live with it. Machines won’t be as good as translators. So, what I think we should do is to evolve and become professionals of these machines to improve their works and keep on working as translators. As I said, machines will never be as good as professional translators.
· ST-LVIA-G3-9
Yeah, I think that although devices for translation can be developed to a high point, they will always need some supervision to be up to date and correct mistakes, so one way or another there will always be a place for translators.
Another impact I have been observing is the one of inventions over children, specifically at technology. When I was a child I was so excited about watching cartoons on tv, but now what I see is that adults give their mobiles or tablets and let their children use them for watching videos.
One day I was with a family and I saw that the children were left with a tablet and, by cliking on recommended videos, they found some weird ones about the cartoons they were seeking and what I mean by weird is videos with violence that absolutely I wouldn’t show to any kid.
Maybe we aren’t conscious about this kind of content that through technology is at the reach of children, so, do you think that we should be more careful or just trust in the censorship settings of platforms? In my case, I would take care by myself, but everybody can be distracted at a moment, so I would pay attention to the settings too.
I also know a case in which a kid spent around 400 euros in a month buying videogames through the Playstation platform because he wasn’t being under the supervision of his parents and they didn’t configure these settings, so it can be also a problem for the careless adults.
· DL-LVI-G3-1
Hello! Yes you’re right, due to modern day technology, children especially are being absorbed by video games and other devices. When i was younger i always played outside with my brother or my friends and would spend everyday outside. However now, it’s not as common for children to be outside. So in this respect I think inventions have also flawed society and things such as children’s technology is what leads to problems such as obesity and end up being being more of a burden than a benefit.
· ST-LVIC-G3-3
+ ST-LVIC-G3-1 With regard to ST-LVIC-G3-1’s previous question, maybe it osund crazy but I think the wheel could be one of the most important inventions. If we think about any knd of gadget or tool, they all have the mechanism of the wheel incorporated.
However, it is also true that most mechanisms I refer would not be able to work without electricity, so you girls have a point 😉
· ST-LVIC-G3-3
Every single topic we have discussed in this forum debate has been extremely interesting to me. It seems that we all are familiared to these issues but it is important to reflect on them to be really aware of the problems/advantages.
I can’t help to think about a TV series I’m sure you all have heard about, which is called Black Mirror. It is a rough critique on technology in general, describing possible situations in the future in which technology could probably lead us to tragedy. Of course it is fiction and its aim is to cause an impact on the public, but to me it is a very good reflexion. I hardly reccomend it.