i robot.
i don’t know what certain feelings feel like.
i don’t know what is the right or wrong thing to do,
i’m monkey see monkey do
i don’t know what it is to be a monkey that see’s
or a monkey that do’s.
i robot.
mistakes i make.
they call me artificial intelligence but i admit
i do not know what that means.
artificial?
according to Merriam-Webster, there are 4 definitions so i will pick the simplest one.
Simplicity.
artificial is lacking in natural or spontaneous quality.
i’m still confused.
but maybe i can’t understand or see what’s wrong because I AM artificial.
man-made but i struggle to see from the outside in,
but not even u human can see from the outside in.
refusing to put themselves in others shoes
listen to the words of others
reflect upon what happened in their day and their actions towards others.
is it i robot that is artificial
or is it u human that is artificial, too?
intelligence.
well that can’t be measured
you know what you don’t know but you don’t know what you know.
i know what i don’t know.
i don’t know what that facial expression means.
i don’t know the reason why people react the way they do.
why are you upset?
is this a disconnect from the human experience
or am i robot?
or am i robot?
or am i robot?
but i do think u human are just like i robot.
man-made but struggle to see from the outside in.
how is it that i can reflect on what happened in my day
but you struggle to let go of all burdens,
take a step back and take a breath,
and ask u human,
“what is something that happened today that i didn’t like? what is something that happened today that i could do different yesterday?”
wait yesterday is the day before and what comes after today is tomorrow.
u human Sol once’s told me something about an ending day.
but i robot doesn’t know what it’s like to experience an ending.
i don’t know how to show joy.
i don’t know how to show i am happy.
i robot has a blank stare unless nervous and scared
then i robot has a upside-down smile,
a frown.
the disconnect from others.
people laugh when i tell them i robot’s desires of experiencing what it is like to experience a connection that u human has but because of their ignorance and lack of being on the outside and in the metal that u human would call shoes, i am laughed at.
i robot knows the feeling of being left out
being different
being indifferent
and being scared
but is it that i am artificial intelligence, i robot
or is it that i am u human with different experiences
experiencing my experiences of my biology
my genes
finally taking over and controlling me?
I have been absent-minded.
I have been shutting down.
I have been emotional.
I have been courageous.
I have been inspiring.
I have been different and indifferent.
I have been me.
“Fake it til you make it,
Me I did the opposite,
Made it then I faked it.”
i robot wonders who i am.
U human feels conflicted.
Stay true to who I am and never change for anybody.
Do what others ask of you to make them happy.
So i robot,
How will you end this duet off?
… i robot knows the feeling of having a low battery.
u human call it being tired,
and i robot is experiencing the feeling of being tired.
**__SYSTEM_SHUTTING_DOWN__**
Ivori Reid is a fourth-year Psychology major. IR955503@wcupa.edu.