Title: AI Turing Test

General Information

• Type of folklore: Internet folklore
• Language: English
• Country of Origin:
• Informant
• Date collected:

Informant Data: 

• Reddit is an online website with a huge database of public forums. Founded in 2005 by several students from the University of Virginia, it has grown to have millions of users today. In fact, Reddit is the 19th most visited website in the world with the large majority of its users coming from the United States of America. On the website, people can post images, videos, text, and more as they are upvoted by other users.   

Contextual Data:

• Social context: To reiterate, artificial intelligence is simply the ability for machines to think and take action like humans. A theory famously called the “Turing test” was coined by a british mathematician Alan turing. The test would be able to tell if a machine was capable of having the abilities of human thinking and action taking. Memes have been used to discuss this development of AI throughout the younger generations of society below the ages of around 30. In this context, most AI memes are jokes that have some hidden truth to them. Furthermore, this meme in particular has the background from the movie IRobot. This movie was a science fiction movie based on AI robots filling the role of public service jobs in order to keep humans safe with three rules as their guidelines.   
•  Cultural context: In most western cultures, there is a residual fear that technology innovation is moving at a faster pace than humans really want. The fear is surmounted by the possibility that automation could take over people and begin to think for themselves. If this happened, there would be little hope for humanity because robots would be able to communicate and function well beyond our control. 

Item: 

Meaning and interpretation: This meme in particular is a superstition that explains if a robot fails a test on purpose in order to trick humans, we have a problem. That would mean robots are able to think themselves and also have malintent. 

Collector’s Name: Max Holden

Tags/Keywords: 

• Artificial Intelligence 
• Memes
• iRobot
• Turing test
• Robots

Title: 小燕子

General Information about Item:

• Verbal lore
• Language: Chinese
• Country of Origin: China
• Informant: Stanley Li
• Date Collected: 5/17/2020

Informant Data:

• Stanley Li was born on December 8, 1962 in Guangzhou, China.  He lived there until after he graduated from college, and then moved to the U.S.  Growing, Stanley spoke Cantonese at home and with friends but learned and spoke Mandarin at school.  

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Stanley learned this nursery from a teacher at school during music class as a way to learn music notes and words.  The nursery rhyme was then sung by children during recess or field trips during the springtime or happy moments.  
• Cultural Context:The nursery rhyme is pervasive throughout the nation and is uniform in structure and lyric.  Like other informants who learned Chinese nursery rhymes, the folklore was first obtained in a school environment from an adult.  

Item:

Audio file:

Original Text:

小燕子，穿花衣，

年年春天到这里，

我问燕子你为啥来，

燕子说，这里的春天最美丽

Transliteration:

xiao yan zi, chuan hua yi

nian nian chun tian dao zhe li

wo wen yan zi ni wei sha lai

yan zi shuo zhe li de chun tian zui mei li

Word-for-word translation:

Little swallow, brightly dressed

Year year spring day come here

I ask the swallow, “Why do you come here?”

The swallow said, “Here spring is the most beautiful.”

Free translation:

Little swallow, brightly colored 

You come here every spring

I ask the swallow, “Why do you come here?”

The swallow said, “The springs here are the most beautiful.”

Informant’s Comments:

• Stanley interpreted this song as one form of propaganda that praised a new China with the emphasis of a beautiful spring and an eager swallow, as it was published six years after the Cultural Revolution.  The spring underscored new beginnings after a colder and darker time period, as represented by a new spring.  

Collector’s Comments:

• The nursery rhyme could also be interpreted as a way to appreciate nature once spring has once again emerged.  Springs often represent renewal of hope due to the better weather but not necessarily within the cultural and historical context of mid-1900 China.

Collector’s Name: Jasmine Li

Tags/Keywords:

• Language
• Nursery rhyme
• Entertainment
• Verbal lore

Title: 找朋友

General Information about Item:

• Verbal lore
• Language: Chinese
• Country of Origin: China
• Informant: Stanley Li
• Date Collected: 5/17/2020

Informant Data:

• Stanley Li was born on December 8, 1962 in Guangzhou, China.  He lived there until after he graduated from college, and then moved to the U.S.  Growing, Stanley spoke Cantonese at home and with friends but learned and spoke Mandarin at school.  

 

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Stanley learned this nursery from a teacher at school during music class as a way to learn music notes and words.  The nursery rhyme was then sung by children during recess or field trips during the springtime or happy moments.  
• Cultural Context: The nursery rhyme is pervasive throughout the nation and is uniform in structure and lyric.  Like other informants who learned Chinese nursery rhymes, the folklore was first obtained in a school environment from an adult.  

Item:

Audio file:

Original Text:

找啊找啊找啊找，

找到一个好朋友，

敬个礼啊握握手，

你是我的好朋友。

Transliteration:

Zhao a zhao a zhao a zhao,

zhao dao yi ge hao peng you,

jing ge li wo wo shou,

ni shi wo de hao peng you

Word-for-word translation:

Seek, seek, seek,

Found a best pal,

Give a salute, shake your hand,

You are my best pal

Free translation:

Go look, look, look,

I found a good friend

Let’s salute, shake hands,

You’re my best friend

Informant’s Comments:

• Stanley interpreted this as a means to make friends between little kids in China.

Collector’s Comments:

• Similar to the informant’s comments, this nursery rhyme could be sung for fun as a way to strengthen camaraderie between children.

Collector’s Name: Jasmine Li

Tags/Keywords:

• Chinese
• Nursery rhyme
• Entertainment
• Verbal lore

Title: Marcha de Osías 

General Information about Item:

• Verbal lore
• Language: Spanish 
• Country of Origin: Mexico
• Informant: RIcky Juan-Ramos
• Date Collected: 5/9/2020

Informant Data:

• Ricky Juan-Ramos was born February 1, 2001 in Salinas, California.  He grew up in a Mexicna-Philipino-American family.  Ricky’s father identifies predominantly as Philipino but is also of Japanese and Chinese descent, while his mother is Mexican of European descent.  Both his parents speak Spanish but Ricky’s father also speaks Japanese.  As a result, Ricky grew up speaking English, Japanese, and Spanish.  Additionally, Ricky attended schools that were predominantly of Spanish-speaking and Asian populations and was exposed to various facets of Hispanic and Asian culture.  Ricky is a current Dartmouth student in the class of 2023.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Ricky learned this nursery rhyme in elementary school from a Latin-American neighbor.  Similar to other kinds of folklore that was collected, this rhyme was accompanied by clapping in a game that resembled pattycake and was played during recess.  The children would then march to the rhythm and pretend to be bears.  This nursery rhyme was primarily passed between children for fun.  
• Cultural Context: This nursery rhyme originated in Argentina and is relatively unknown to other Spanish-speaking individuals from different countries.

Item:

Audio file:

Original Text:

Osías el osito en 

Mameluco

Paseaba por la calle 

Chacabuco

Mirando las tiendas 

Con reojo

Sin alcancía pero

Con antojo

Por fin decidió ir a un

Bazarito

Todo esto pero sin dinerito

Y con el ganas se fue al mercado

Y encontró 

un temporado

Y con un peso al día

Junto sus 

Alegrías

Regresó al 

Bazarito

Y compró

Un tamborino

Con su tamborino Osías

El osito

Fue el más feliz de todos en 

Mameluco

Paseando por la calle 

Chacabuco

Osías el osito en 

mameluco

Marchaba por la calle

Chacabuco

Word-for-word translation:

Osías the Bear in

Mameluco

Walking along the street

Chacabuco

Looking the stores

With glance

Without piggy bank but

With craving

At last decided to go to a 

Little bazaar

All this but without little money

And with the desire went to the market

And found

A temporary job

And with a peso a day

Together their

Joys

Returned to 

The little bazaar 

And bought 

A tambourine

With his tambourine Osías

The bear

Was the most happy of all in 

Mameluco

Walking along the street 

Chacabuco

Osías the Bear in 

Mameluco

Marching along the street

Chacabuco

Free translation:

Osías the Bear in

Mameluco

Was walking along the street named

Chacabuco

Looking at the stores

With a glance

Without piggy bank but

With a craving

At last he decided to go to a 

Little bazaar

All this but without little money

And with desire went to the market

And found

A temporary job

And with a peso a day

Together their

Joys

He returned to 

The little bazaar 

And bought 

A tambourine

With his tambourine Osías

The bear

Was the happiest in all

Mameluco

Walking along the street 

Chacabuco

Osías the Bear in 

Mameluco

Marching along the street

Chacabuco

Informant’s Comments:

• Ricky interpreted this rhyme as simply a silly song about bears receiving orders and playing and marching along to the beat.  The nursery rhyme serves only as entertainment. 

Collector’s Comments:

• Building upon Ricky’s interpretation, this rhyme could reflect the innocence of a child in Argentina.  The sheer joy that the tambourine provided highlights the types of toys that were available to Argentine kids as well as the innocence and happiness.

Collector’s Name: Jasmine Li

Tags/Keywords:

• Language
• Nursery rhyme
• Entertainment
• Verbal lore