3In the Robot Lab

The next morning, Fawzooz took the two children to a corner of the village’s shared workspace that was full of robots of every size and shape, each with its own job.

The cleaning robot. The little girl spotted a little robot moving across the floor, and Fawzooz said, “This robot helps clean houses. It finds dust by itself, and learns how to move around the house without bumping into anything… except Uncle Saleh’s foot now and then!” The two children laughed.

“Every robot does a different job that makes our lives easier.”

The talking robot. There was also a robot that looked like a person, and Fawzooz said, “This one talks with people and answers their questions. It uses AI to understand them and reply.” The little boy stepped back in fright, took hold of his sister’s hand and asked, “Does it think like us? Does it get angry?” Fawzooz reassured him, “It doesn’t get angry and it doesn’t get sad; it’s a machine that’s good at talking, that’s all.” So the little boy went closer and said, “Assalamu alaikum.” The robot answered, “Wa alaikum assalam. What’s your name?” And his fear melted away into a smile.

The self-driving car. In the corner there was a little road marked out with signs and models, and a small car was driving along it. Fawzooz said, “This car drives itself safely. It recognises traffic lights, people walking and other cars, and makes quick decisions to avoid accidents.” Then he put a model of a child in front of it, and the car stopped, and the two children clapped. But the little girl asked, “And if it gets it wrong one day, who protects the child who’s crossing?”

The two children were amazed by every new robot. The little boy asked excitedly, “Can we program a robot like these?” Fawzooz said, “A day will come when we build a robot, but tomorrow I’ll take you into the world of games.”