What do you do when you have such severe allergies that even going outside could kill you? Especially when you're a kid—how does going to SCHOOL work if any snot-nosed pal can collapse your lungs by spilling peanuts in his backpack? Some kids would give up on school, and accept that their life will be nothing more than playing Halo by themselves in some barren, isolated room.
Hell, some kids do this even without allergies.
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But not Devon Carrow of Buffalo, New York. No sir. He got himself a ROBOT. Using a wheeled, camera-equipped bit of machinery called "VGo", Devon is able to stay at home to prevent his allergies from destroying him, but also be in a second grade class. I have to imagine there are some differences, though. For instance, imagine Devon passing a note to a girl named, say, Maggie Thomas, asking if she liked him, and she checked "yes"
He'd never know if she likes him or the robot.
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Devon communicates from home using an HD camera connected to his computer, pays attention while his teacher talks, and has all the same homework assignments. It's a lot like taking classes at the online Pheonix University, except he's interacting with his fellow students in real-time.
It's also different in the fact that he's actually getting an education.
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I like this story, because it provides a nice counter-point to the stories about robots we always hear. "What if they become smarter than us? Will they rise up against us? Will OUR OWN CREATION be our ultimate undoing?"
Well maybe the robots we make are going to help us. Maybe the robots we create will be nice. Maybe they'll help us get through second grade.
"TODAY'S LUNCH MENU IS CHICKEN PATTY ON A BUN.
ENJOY CHICKEN PATTY ON A BUN OR BE DESTROYED."
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Would you use a robot to digitally go to school? Let me know on twitter @mikeyfromsu or in the comments below!
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