It was a depressing time.

Now I really understand where Turkle is coming from. Man. I hear her.

Now I really understand where Turkle is coming from. Man. I hear her.

She attended a symposium called "Caring Machines: Artificial Intelligence in Eldercare" and "I asked participants -AI scientists, physicians, nurses, philosophers, psychologists, nursing home owners, representatives of insurance companies- whether the very title of the symposium suggested that we now assume that machines can be made to 'care.' Some tried to reassure me that, for them, "caring" meant that machines would take care of us, not that they would care about us. They saw caring as a behavior, not a feeling. One physician explained, 'Like a machine that cuts your toenails. Or bathes you. That is a caring computer. Or talks with you if you are lonely. Same thing."Some participants met my objections about language with impatience. They thought I was quibbling over semantics. But I don't think this slippage of language is a quibble."

She is so right! Here's what happened to me. I am in the drug store. I look up and see that sign up there- the image I posted in this post- it CLEARLY says "Personal Care" in that aisle. I had a problem I wanted to talk about and I thought, "personal care" that's where I go! I waited. And waited. I was hoping for an intelligent, kind, physically attractive researcher or someone to come up and give "personal care.". Did they? No.
Then my foot was hurting. The aisle over was CLEARLY marked "Foot Care." Sure there were all kinds of products there, but no one came to care for my feet. I took off my shoes. Socks. Nothing.
Ridiculous. Right on, Turke!

Also has anyone ever received a "Care Package" while at college or serving in the military? You open the "care" package to find that it is just full of objects! There is no one in there to "care" for you at all! Quibbling? I think not.