Two Kingdoms

Oh! To begin again
To do again what I did
with all the knowledge
I have now!

Nothing is ever the same.
Still, I can return again to
this present moment.
It's always the same
Always, always, always

In the Kingdom of Time
this moment never comes again.
In the Kingdom of Eternity
this is the only moment.

(Photo: Under the wisteria near Peet's Coffee & Tea across from Clairmont Hotel, Berkeley. 3/28/2009)

paper scraps

I write on paper scraps
for absolute pleasure
pen, ink, paper touching
like lovers at night

Social robots "with feelings"

The wall between humans and robots is falling. The more robots act like they feel our presense, the more we feel that they are like us. The first video is of Kismit, an early experimental social robot at M.I.T. who interacts with feeling.

The second video is much more lifelike. Many students say this video is disturbing.

Someday it may become hard to tell the difference between a robot and a person. Will social robots change "human nature"? What are the ethical questions raised? What are the possible applications of such technology? Do we want to limit those applications?