All of them had appeared for a Project Management course and cleared it but it was Padma who got the highest marks. Based on consensus, the bill was on her today. Padma accepted the request and the congratulations but had a question on basic counting and grammar skills. She asked, “With calculators and computers available for computing and Word for correcting spelling and grammar mistakes, will the generation to come, actually be proficient in counting and writing proper English”
Kaushik shared this concern and said, “This is a very serious issue. It can impact the game of Bridge. Counting is a such a basic skill for Bridge that I cannot imagine how people will play the game if they lose the ability to count. Our grounding in schools on Arithmetic and English was very good and the future generations may not have the same basic grounding”
Prabha had just returned from an US trip where she went to kibitz a regional event and was surprised to see an bridge event amongst robots. There were 12 entries and the competition was a very serious one. I dread if one of these days we have more robots than human beings playing Bridge”
Kingo was quick to retort. “Relax. People will find avenues to enjoy. When we were young, we used to play games like Hide and Seek, Gilli Danda, and Lagori. We used to play them outdoors while the kids of today play them on mobile. If that is how people want to enjoy the future, none of us can stop it.”
Kaushik wanted to know if computers can also simulate the human side of bridge like taking judgement calls at 5 level, bidding close games based on bidding inferences, and taking guesses in finesses. Prabha added, “Even if they build the most intelligent robot, such decisions can go wrong as robot operates on probabilities and when the probability is 50 per cent even the robot has to take a guess”
Everyone left wondering what the pastimes in the future will be. Maybe the future will be about building better and better robots. The belief is that with more and more automation, humanity will be freed from daily chores like cleaning the house, washing clothes doing computations and will find more time to enjoy themselves indulging in music, outdoor sports and socializing. Everyone agreed let us enjoy the present and not worry too much about the future
Tailpiece:
Goofy grinned saying he was happy that he never has to count in his life
