Lesson video

Hello everyone, it's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton and I'm going to guide you through your learning journey today.

Today's lesson's called Emulating Ishiguro's use of an artificial voice in "Klara and the Sun." Now I think the idea of an artificial voice is becoming more and more important in society with the advance in artificial intelligence.

So looking at how an artificial voice created in writing could be used for helping determine whether a voice you're reading is a human voice or whether it's an artificial voice.

Now, you'll need a copy of the 2021 Faber and Faber version of "Klara and the Sun" by Ishiguro for this lesson.

So make sure you have that to hand.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you use for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to emulate Ishiguro's use of mechanical and spatial language to craft your own artificial voice.

So four words there we're going to be using as our keywords.

They'll be identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I've tried to point them out as well so you can see them being used in context.

So our first word's mechanical, which means operated by a machine or connected with the machines or their parts.

We're going to be thinking about how Ishiguro associates Klara's language with something mechanical.

Our second keyword is artificial, which means made or produced by human beings, rather than occurring naturally.

We're going to be thinking about how we as the reader get the sense from Klara's language that she is somehow artificial.

Our third keyword is sensory language, which means the use of words to create a connection with any of the five senses.

So sight, touch, sound, taste, smell.

This is something we use naturally in our speech.

We're going to look at how Ishiguro uses a lack of sensory language to create an artificial voice.

Our fourth keyword is spatial which relates to the position, area and size of things.

We're going to be thinking about how Ishiguro uses spatial language within his artificial voice.

So, I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and their definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic, let's get started with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to look at how Ishiguro uses mechanical and spatial language to craft an artificial voice.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to be thinking how we can emulate Ishiguro's artificial voice, in order to plan your own artificial voice.

Then in our third learning cycle, we're going to write a paragraph using our own artificial voice.

Now, today we're going to be thinking about Ishiguro's crafting of Klara's voice in "Klara in the Sun." So, let's just talk through a quick summary of the story and think about how we might respond to it.

Now, the novel is set in a dystopian future where children are genetically engineered for enhanced academic ability.

The children are homeschooled.

Their parents often buy them an artificial intelligence companion.

And artificial is our keyword.

It means made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally.

So artificial intelligence is intelligence that has been produced by human beings.

Now Klara is an artificial intelligence companion.

So, before we start looking at Ishiguro's language, I'd like to think about whether or not this sounds like something you'd like to read.

Why or why not? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone, some great discussions there.

Now, dystopian novels have been considering artificial intelligence and how it'll affect our lives for decades, and I think we're likely to see more novels of this nature as artificial intelligence because more and more integrated into our lives.

So, let's start thinking about how Ishiguro crafts an artificial character voice.

So, in the opening paragraph on page three, Klara describes herself as being new, having a specific position on the floor and being a model.

What I'd like you to think about is what does this language make you think of? What effect does it have? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone, great ideas there.

Let's talk about what you might have said.

Now, words such as new and having a position on the floor might be seen as mechanical.

Now, mechanical's one of our keywords.

It means operated by a machine or connected with machines and their parts.

So the words new, model and position are all connected with ideas of machines and their parts.

You might have thought it's reminiscent of how we'd describe an object such as a car, so something artificial, rather than how we'd describe a human being.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false that Klara's description of herself seems mechanical in nature.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Now the correct answer is true.

Now I'd like to tell me why it's true.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now you might have said she describes herself as being new and as being a specific model.

Both are reminiscent of describing an object, such as car for sale.

So very well done if you've got those right.

So, now we've thought about how Klara describes herself, let's think about how she describes her surroundings.

Now, on page three, she describes her position in the room in relation to the objects.

So for example, she's next to something or behind something.

She doesn't elaborate on the descriptions, it's just a table.

So, what I'd like you to think about is what do you notice about Klara's description? What effect does it have? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, Lucas thought it feels as if Klara's concerned with the spatial aspects of the room and their dimensions.

Now, spatial is one of our keywords.

It means relation to the position, area and size of things.

So rather than describing the objects or the room, Klara's describing where she's in relation to the objects.

Lucas also notes it doesn't include any sensory language or any attached emotions.

Now, sensory language is another of our keywords.

It means the use of words to create a connection to any of the five senses.

So sight, touch, taste, sound, smell.

Now Klara doesn't use any sensory language.

That feels unusual.

Normally if we're describing a room or a place, we'll give the reader some indicator of what it looks like, what it feels like, and Klara doesn't do that.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following statements best demonstrates how Klara describes her surroundings? Is it A, she gives a very detailed description using tactile imagery.

B, she offers descriptions that rely heavily on spatiality.

Or C, she offers a description that focuses on her emotions.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, Klara describes the room in terms of position in relation to the object, which relies on spatiality.

So very well done if you got that right.

So, now let's think about Klara's social interactions and how Ishiguro describes them.

On page eight, we learn that Klara and the other companions are solar-powered.

Klara placed her hand on a patch of sun in the shop, another companion accused of her being greedy and making the others weak.

Klara's unsure about whether the companion is making a joke.

So what I'd like you to think about is what's the effect of this? Why does it make Klara seem artificial? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, as Sophia says, "It makes it seem as if Klara cannot read social situations or understand the emotion in other people's voices." Human beings are social beings.

We're able to read each other's body language and Klara isn't able to do that which makes us believe she's artificial and created by humans rather than actually being a human herself.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false that Klara's social interactions shows she understands complex social situations? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Now the correct answer is false.

Now, I'd like to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now you might have said she can't determine whether a comment someone's making is a joke or not, so that makes us think she can't understand social situations.

So very well done if you got that right.

Fantastic work everyone.

We're now on the first task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to do is think about the fact that in our modern society, many writers consider themes of humanity and artificial intelligence.

I'd like to answer the following questions.

So number one, why do you think writers might want to make a distinction between artificial voices and human voices? Number two, how might this relate to fears around the growing presence of artificial intelligence in society? So pause the video, take a few minutes to answer the questions.

Welcome back everyone, some fantastic ideas there.

Now what I'd like you to do is think about Alex's ideas.

Think about how well they align with your ideas.

So, question one, why do you think writers might want to make a distinction between artificial voices and human voices? And Alex said, "I think they'd want to make a distinction between artificial and human voices to reassure the reader there is a difference between artificial and human intelligence." Question two, how might this relate to fears around the growing presence of artificial intelligence in society? And Alex said, "I think it might relate to fears that the more advanced artificial intelligence becomes, it'll become impossible to tell the difference between artificial voice and a human voice.

And that will affect how we see the position of humans in the world.

So pause the video, think about how well Alex's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back everyone.

Now we're going to take all of our ideas from this learning cycle and use them to think about how we can plan our own artificial voice by emulating Ishiguro's work.

Amazing work so far everyone.

And now in the second learning cycle, we're going to talk through how we might create a guide to emulating Ishiguro's artificial voice and then plan our own artificial voice.

So, let's begin by thinking about how we can emulate Ishiguro's use an artificial voice.

In order to do so, we might follow these steps.

So describe the character in a way that seems mechanical and artificial.

Show the character sees the world through spatiality and dimensions rather than sensory language.

Demonstrate the character can't fully interpret social interactions and emotions.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is fill in the gaps to complete the steps to emulating Ishiguro's artificial voice.

So, describe the character in a way that seems- and artificial.

Show the character sees the world through- and dimensions rather than sensory language.

Demonstrate the character can't fully interpret social situations and- So, pause the video, fill in the gaps now.

Welcome back everyone.

Let's talk through the answers.

So, we might emulate Ishiguro's use of an artificial voice by describing the character in a way that seems mechanical and artificial.

Show the character sees the world through spatiality and dimensions rather than sensory language.

Demonstrate the character can't fully interpret social interactions and emotions.

So very well done if you got those right.

Fantastic work everyone.

We're now onto the second task of the lesson.

Now, before we think about how we are going to plan our artificial voice, let's think about the context for our character.

So, they've just been created in a workshop, they're seeing themselves for the first time, they're about to interact with their creator.

So what I'd like you to do is answer the following questions to plan our artificial voice.

So, how could you describe the character in a way that seems mechanical and artificial? How might you show the character sees the world through spatiality and dimensions rather than sensory language? How would you demonstrate the character can't fully interpret social interactions and emotions? So, pause the video, answer the questions now.

Welcome back everyone, some amazing work there.

So, what I'd like you to do now is think about Sophia's answers and think about which one doesn't seem cohesive for an artificial voice.

So number one, how could you describe the character in a way that seems mechanical and artificial? And Sophia said, "Maybe I could describe them as being shiny with a chrome-finish and meeting factory specifications." How might you show the character sees the world through spatiality and dimensions rather than sensory language? And Sophia says, "Maybe I could describe their room as having a comfortable soft rug." How would you demonstrate the character can't fully interpret social interactions and emotions? And Sophia said, "Maybe I could describe them struggling to understand someone's sadness." So pause the video, think about which of Sophia's answers doesn't seem to fit with the idea of an artificial voice.

Welcome back everyone.

Now you might have said that describing the rug as being soft and comfortable, that's using sensory language, which is not associated with an artificial voice.

So, how do you think we could describe the rug instead, to create the sense of an artificial voice.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

You might have said that maybe Sophia could describe the measurements of the rug instead, as that's more related to the idea of spatiality rather than sensory language.

Now, we're gonna take these ideas and use 'em to write out our own paragraph, using our artificial voice.

Fantastic work everyone.

We're now onto our third learning cycle.

We're going to write our own artificial voice.

Now, before we start thinking about writing our own artificial voice, let's deconstruct Sophia's paragraph, featuring her artificial character.

I always think it's useful to look at how someone else turned their ideas into writing, so you can use it as a model for turning your own plan into a piece of writing.

So Sophia wrote, "I stretched out my arm before me, The chrome-finish glinting in the light.

I noticed the stamp on my wrist that offered assurance that I met the current factory specifications.

I looked up.

There was a man standing on the perfectly square rug, 60 centimetres by 60 centimetres.

Puzzlingly, I could see a droplet of water running down his cheek." Now, when Sophia says chrome-finish and factory specifications, she's using language that seems mechanical and related to machines.

When she says the rug is perfectly square and 60 centimetres by 60 centimetres, it's focusing on dimensions of the rug and therefore focusing on spatiality.

Finally, when Sophia suggests the artificial character is puzzled by a droplet of water running down the man's cheek, we get the impression the character doesn't understand the expression of human emotions.

This character doesn't recognise a tear.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following descriptions of a chair best emulates Ishiguro's use of an artificial voice.

Is it A, the mahogany wood was a thing of beauty.

It almost felt alive as I ran my hand over the beautifully finished pattern, or B, there was a chair positioned at the head of the table.

Its height was exactly one third of the height of the room.

So pause the video, consider which description best emulates Ishiguro's use of an artificial voice.

Welcome back everyone.

Let's talk through what you might've said.

Now, the first description uses sensory language, which does not fit with Ishiguro's artificial voice.

Whereas the second description does use spatial language, which does follow Ishiguro's artificial voice.

So very well done if you've got that right.

Amazing work everyone.

We're now onto the final task of the lesson.

So before we write our artificial voice, let's remind ourselves of the context of our character.

So they've just been created in a workshop, they're seeing themselves for the first time and they're about to interact with their creator.

So, what I'd like you to do is write a paragraph that shows your character is artificial.

Now remember to emulate Ishiguro's artificial voice by describing the character in a way that seems mechanical and artificial.

Showing the character sees the world through spatiality and dimensions rather than sensory language.

Demonstrate the character can't fully interpret social interactions and emotions.

So pause the video, write your paragraph now.

Welcome back everyone, some amazing work there.

Now for the final part of the lesson, what I'd like you to do is share your work with a peer and reflect on the following questions.

So how do they describe their character? Does it seem mechanical and artificial? How do they describe their character's surroundings? Does the description focus on spatiality rather than sensory language? Have they demonstrated their character doesn't fully comprehend human emotions? Pause the video, peer assess your work now.

Welcome back everyone.

Now I know that sharing your work, particularly creative writing, with someone else can be intimidating.

But it's such a good habit to get into.

We write to have an effect on someone else.

So we need to get someone else's thoughts on our work to see if our writing's having the effect we thought it would.

Now, hopefully you can take these ideas and use 'em in your writing going forward, but also hopefully help you identify, when you're listening to artificial voice rather than a real human voice.

You all did amazingly well today everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

The narrator of Ishiguro's "Klara and the Sun" is an artificial intelligence companion for children.

In order to emulate Ishiguro's use of an artificial voice, we might describe the character in mechanical terms. We might offer description of their surroundings, that focus on spatiality rather than sensory language.

You could also show how the character doesn't fully comprehend social interactions or situations.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson everyone, and I hope see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.