電気通信大学 AE2Y I: Dilemmas of AI (from 2001: A Space Odyssey)・AIのジレンマ「2001年宇宙の旅から」

Hello!

How are you? As I mentioned in class today, here is a post about an example of AI (artificial intelligence) gone wrong - in this case, as imagined in a movie.

In 1968, the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was released. In Japan, it was known as 2001年宇宙の旅. Even now, it is one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made. In it, one of the main characters is a supercomputer called the HAL 9000. The picture at the top is the camera of the HAL 9000.

In the story, the HAL 9000 is the greatest supercomputer ever built. It can speak with humans with a human voice; play - and beat - humans at chess; find and understand human emotions; and manage the air supply and other functions of the space station the human astronauts in the story work and do their research on.

But there are some problems that the astronauts find with "Hal," as they call the computer...

Homework

Watch these short film clips from the movie. 

1. Here is the first one - in it, the two main astronauts, named Dave and Frank, are talking about what to do with the problems that Hal is showing. They go to a safe place where they don't think Hal can hear them.

How does Hal know what they're talking about? 

If for any reason you have trouble seeing the clip above, go to this link here. It will take you directly to YouTube.

2. Here is the next clip. Frank goes out of a spacecraft released from the space station. Hal is in control of the spacecraft functions. What happens to Frank? 

If you have any trouble seeing the clip above, go to this link to see it on YouTube.

3. Here is the clip after that. Dave wants to know what is happening. What is Hal's response? 

If you have any trouble seeing it here, click this link to go to YouTube.

4. Here is the last clip. What does Dave do with Hal? 

If you have any trouble seeing this clip, go to YouTube from this link. 

I hope you find this interesting. If you like science-fiction films, I highly recommend this one - even though it's very long! 

Here are the board notes for our class on 6/4:

See you next class!

Image: Screenshot of image by Cryteria - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11651154

Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved.
Video clips uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the clips or the excerpts from the film they are derived. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for classroom use only. 

電気通信大学 AE2Y I: Dilemmas of AI (from 2001: A Space Odyssey)・AIのジレンマ「2001年宇宙の旅から」

Hello!

How are you? As I mentioned in class today, here is the finished post about another example of AI gone wrong - in this case, as imagined in a movie.

In 1968, the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was released. In Japan, it was known as 2001年宇宙の旅. Even now, it is one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made. In it, one of the main characters is a supercomputer called the HAL 9000. The camera of the HAL 9000 is the picture at the top.

In the story, the HAL 9000 is the greatest supercomputer ever built. It can speak with humans with a human voice; play - and beat - humans at chess; find and understand human emotions; and manage the air supply and other functions of the space station the human astronaut characters in the story work and do their research on.

But there are issues that the astronauts find with "Hal," as they call the computer...

Homework

Watch these short film clips from the movie. 

1. Here is the first one - in it, the two main astronauts, named Dave and Frank, are talking about what to do with the problems that Hal is showing. They go to a safe place where they don't think Hal can hear them.

How does Hal know what they're talking about? 

If for any reason you have trouble seeing the clip above, go to this link here. It will take you directly to YouTube.

2. Here is the next clip. For this one, you might want to turn the sound down. 

Frank goes out of a spacecraft released from the space station. Hal is in control of the spacecraft functions. What does Hal do with Frank? 

If you have any trouble seeing the clip above, go to this link to see it on YouTube. (It's a better clip than the one here - for some reason, I could not upload the better clip directly to the post - that is why you should turn the sound down!)

3. Here is the clip after that. Dave wants to know what is happening. What is Hal's response? 

If you have any trouble seeing it here, click this link to go to YouTube.

4. Here is the last clip. What does Dave do with Hal? 

If you have any trouble seeing this clip, go to YouTube from this link. 

I hope you find this interesting. If you like science-fiction films, I highly recommend this one - even though it's very long!

See you next class!

Image: By Grafiker61 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46424786

Video clips uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the clips or the excerpts from the film they are derived. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for classroom use only. 

電気通信大学 ASE I: Interesting inventions・面白い発明

Hello!

How are you? Today we'll look at interesting inventions (発明)! 

Check out the picture above. It's an early helicopter, built around 1905-06. 

While the physics of helicopter flight were already understood and the engineering for it was possible, many countries chose to develop aircraft with wings instead in the early 20th century. Helicopters as we know them had to wait until the end of World War II to be fully developed. 

Activity
But not all inventions of the early 20th century were successful. Here is a video from YouTube made up of very old film clips of crazy inventions from the 1920s. Watch this and make a few notes about what you see:

Here are some questions: 
Have any of these ideas actually been improved upon since the time of the video? 
Which ones do you think have been developed? 
Choose one of the inventions that look to have been a complete failure. What do you think could have been done to have made it work successfully? 

Write your ideas about these in your notebooks. Bring them in next week and talk about these with each other!

Have fun with these! See you next time!

Image: By Unknown - Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6861410

東京理科大学 A・B英1: Comparison & contrast in Japanese education・日本教育の比較対照

Hello!

How are you? Let's look at Japanese education, and how it has changed over time. 

The picture above is a scene from a terakoya - a local temple school that taught reading and writing to the children in the area of the temple. Terakoya were common during the Edo period.

Activity
Look at these two pictures. The first one is from a girl's high school sewing class in the 1930s. The second one is a recent typical high school class.

With a partner or a small group talk about, and make some notes on, differences you notice and things you feel have changed - or perhaps anything you feel is the same - between these two pictures.

Take care! See you next time!

Images: Top - by signed: Issunshi Hanasato (一寸子 花里) - 日刊イトイ新聞, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3147851/Past girl’s high school classroom - by 能代実科高等女学校　Noshiro Practical Girls' High School - 能代実科高等女学校大正五年開校記念絵葉書　Postcard issued by the Noshiro Practical Girls' High School., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17018162/Contemporary high school classroom - screenshot taken from https://www.tofugu.com/japan/jet-program-self-intro-class/Original photograph by Dylan James at https://www.flickr.com/photos/organictokyo/33542326/in/photostream/Special thanks to Verity Lane at Tofugu.com. All rights reserved on original photograph to Dylan James. I do not own the rights to the image or the copyright holder(s). Dylan James photograph uploaded for classroom purposes only.

電気通信大学 ASE & AWE II: Comparison & contrast in Japanese education・日本教育の比較対照

Hello!

How are you? Let's look at Japanese education (教育), and how it has changed over time. 

Activity
Look at these two pictures below. The first one is from a girl's high school sewing (裁縫) class in the 1930s. The second one is a recent, average high school class. 

With a partner or a small group talk about, and make some notes on, differences you notice and things you feel have changed - or perhaps anything you feel is also the same - between these two pictures. 

Discussion & practice writing

When we're finished, discuss what you see in the pictures - what is different, but also what might be similar, about them. Make a chart comparing (比較して) and contrasting (対照して) what you note in the pictures. 

For AWE II, we can also start some 2-3 paragraph practice writing on comparing and contrasting these different pictures, and what we see and understand in them. This will be due in the next class.

Take care! See you next time!

Images: Top - by Douglas P Perkins - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17195256/Past girl’s high school classroom - by 能代実科高等女学校　Noshiro Practical Girls' High School - 能代実科高等女学校大正五年開校記念絵葉書　Postcard issued by the Noshiro Practical Girls' High School., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17018162/Contemporary high school classroom - screenshot taken from https://www.tofugu.com/japan/jet-program-self-intro-class/Original photograph by Dylan James at https://www.flickr.com/photos/organictokyo/33542326/in/photostream/Special thanks to Verity Lane at Tofugu.com. All rights reserved on original photograph to Dylan James. I do not own the rights to the image or the copyright holder(s). Dylan James photograph uploaded for classroom purposes only.

東京理科大学 A英3: Comparison & contrast in Japanese education・日本教育の比較対照

Hello!

How are you? Today, let's deepen our understanding of writing in comparison and contrast (比較対照). We'll look at Japanese education, and how it has changed over time. 

The picture above is a scene from a terakoya - a local temple school that taught reading and writing to the children in the area of the temple. Terakoya were common during the Edo period.

Activity
Look at these two pictures. The first one is from a girl's high school sewing class in the 1930s. The second one is a recent typical high school class.

With a partner or a small group talk about, and make some notes on, differences you notice and things you feel have changed - or perhaps anything you feel is the same - between these two pictures.

Practice writing

When we're finished, we can start some 2-3 paragraph practice writing on comparing and contrasting these different pictures, and what we believe we see and understand in them. This will be due in the next class.

Take care! See you next time!

Images: Top - by signed: Issunshi Hanasato (一寸子 花里) - 日刊イトイ新聞, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3147851/Past girl’s high school classroom - by 能代実科高等女学校　Noshiro Practical Girls' High School - 能代実科高等女学校大正五年開校記念絵葉書　Postcard issued by the Noshiro Practical Girls' High School., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17018162/Contemporary high school classroom - screenshot taken from https://www.tofugu.com/japan/jet-program-self-intro-class/Original photograph by Dylan James at https://www.flickr.com/photos/organictokyo/33542326/in/photostream/Special thanks to Verity Lane at Tofugu.com. All rights reserved on original photograph to Dylan James. I do not own the rights to the image or the copyright holder(s). Dylan James photograph uploaded for classroom purposes only.

ECA (Speaking) I (J & D): 過去の物価

Hello!



How are you! Today let's think about prices (物価) from the past (過去) - how well do they match up to prices now - in the present (現在)? 

Activity

Look at the poster at the top. It's an old Meiji poster from the 1960s. It's from a long time ago, isn't it? How much money do you think these cost back at that time?

Now look at some old pictures of things we still enjoy or use now. With a partner or in a group, can you guess if these things were cheaper, the same, or more expensive in the past?

(Remember! Cheap = 安い/The same = 同じ/Expensive = 高い)

例えば ：

Bon Curry has been enjoyed in Japan for a long time - since 1968! This is an old Bon Curry package. In 1968, do you think a package of Bon Curry was cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now?

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive     

Answer (答え): It was cheaper.  

Now with a partner or in a group, make some guesses about these things. Were they cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now?

1. Morinaga Drops - late 1960s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

2. Ramune Pet - late 1960s/early 1970s 

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive 

3. Pepsi - early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

4. Candy Candy school notebook - early 1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

5. Shinkansen ticket - late 1960s/early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

6. Original Apple Macintosh computer - mid-1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

Have fun with this! See you!

Images: Meiji Peanut Chocolate Balls, Bon Curry, Morinaga Drops, Ramune, and Pepsi ad images - screenshots from Pinterest. Candy Candy notebook image - screenshot from eBay. All rights reserved on all images and products to their respective copyright holders. No copyright infringement intended. 

Shinkansen photograph: Roger Wollstadt - http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/3429753993/in/set-72157623081490477/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18004116

Macintosh photograph: w:User:Grm wnr - Modifications of Image:Macintosh 128k.jpg and w:Image:Macintosh 128k No Text.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=519781

Shinkansen and Macintosh images from Wikimedia Commons. All images uploaded solely for classroom use. 

ECA (Speaking) I (C, W, & A): 過去の物価

Hello!

How are you! Today let's think about prices (物価) from the past (過去) - how well do they match up to prices in the present (現在)? 

Activity

Look at the poster at the top. It's an old Morinaga Drops poster from the 1960s. It's from a long time ago, isn't it? How much money do you think these cost back at that time?

Now look at some old pictures of things we still enjoy or use now. With a partner or in a group, can you guess if these things were cheaper, the same, or more expensive in the past?

(Remember! Cheap = 安い/the same = 同じ/expensive = 高い)

例えば ：

Bon Curry has been enjoyed in Japan for a long time - since 1968! This is an old Bon Curry package. In 1968, do you think a package of Bon Curry was cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now?

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive     

Answer (答え): It was cheaper.   

Now with a partner or in a group, make some guesses about these things. Were they cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now? 

1. Meiji Peanut Chocolate Balls - late 1960s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

2. Ramune - late 1960s/early 1970s 

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive 

3. Pepsi - early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

4. Candy Candy school notebook - early 1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

5. Shinkansen ticket - late 1960s/early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

6. Original Macintosh - mid-1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

Have fun with this! See you!

Images: Morinaga Drops, Bon Curry, Meiji Peanut Chocolate Balls, Ramune, and Pepsi ad images - screenshots from Pinterest. Candy Candy notebook image - screenshot from eBay. All rights reserved on all images and products to their respective copyright holders. No copyright infringement intended. 

Shinkansen photograph: Roger Wollstadt - http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/3429753993/in/set-72157623081490477/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18004116

Macintosh photograph: w:User:Grm wnr - Modifications of Image:Macintosh 128k.jpg and w:Image:Macintosh 128k No Text.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=519781

Shinkansen and Macintosh images from Wikimedia Commons. All images uploaded solely for classroom use.