Yamamoto 6
The Sixth Story, The Day Shion Came, is longer than the previous
tales. It takes about 100 pages. The story comes against a backdrop of negative
stereotypic view about robots and their usefulness in life. In all the stories,
Ibis endeavors to present the good side of androids that is unknown to men. The
story is about Shion, a robot working in a Japanese nursing facility.
Interestingly, Shion has a robust understanding of medical terms and conditions
based on her extensive training on health matters. However, it lacks effective
communication skills when engaging with the residents. Despite the medical
skills, it will be impossible to remain effective in the facility without
proper communication skills.
The need to develop engagement skills sends Shion to a trainer. After a
successful session, the trainer learns something startling from Shion about her
understanding of human behavior. According to her analysis, humans have
irrational behavior caused by dementia. She believes all the people within her sphere suffer from this
condition. As the story comes to an end, Shion pulls one of the greatest act a
robot can perform. She saves a resident who was on the verge of committing
suicide. While the act proves her claim of humans being irrational, it presents
a great stride in communication skills gained over time.
The ethical imperatives from the story centers on the social belief
system that discredits the use of artificial intelligence. Androids have a
positive influence on the lives of people. However, programmers should have
stringent principles controlling their operations. Yamamoto addresses dynamism
in social construct and the changing beliefs on the use of robots in delivering
crucial services like healthcare. While there are traditional fears in trusting
robots, societies are gradually adjusting themselves to accept their positive
attributes.
Work Cited
Yamamoto,
Hiroshi, and Takami Nieda. The Stories of Ibis. San Francisco: Haikasoru, 2010. Print.
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