Before robots take over the world, let’s not forget to be human

在機械人統治世界之前，不要忘記：我們就是人類呀！

In the age of artificial intelligence, humans are considered inferior, weak, and irrational... 

Are we on the brink of extinction? 
What is there to learn about being human?
Humans may be small and slow, 
but we’re free.
We stumble and fall, but we have each other.
We’re weird and imperfect, but we are valuable beyond measure.

在這個人工智能時代，跟機械人相比，人類也許被認為是卑微、脆弱、不理性…… 
我們正處於滅絕的邊緣嗎？生而為人，我們要學習什麼？ 

人類或許渺小又遲鈍，卻純粹而自由。 
我們跌跌碰碰，但一齊行。 
古古怪怪、一點也不完美，但我們的價值是超越我們能想像的。

Imperfect

Imagine if we walked onto an island and every single person there had the perfect physique and face, were perfectly smart, talented and happy… but they were all exactly the same. That would be scary because it would seem that they were mass produced, like robots, and the imperfect ones were somehow eliminated.

I like being human much more, with our crooked smiles, wonky noses and floppy arms… and yet out of the 8 billion people on this earth, there’s not another human exactly like me.

If you look at handmade clay pots, you’ll see uneven brush strokes, smudges, fingerprints, cracks. These imperfections make the pots valuable because they are signs that the pots were individually and lovingly crafted. Humans are like that too!

想像一下，如果我們走到一座島上，那裡的每個人都有完美的體格和臉孔，他們很聰明、有才華和快樂……但他們都是一模一樣的。 那個島會很可怕，因為那些「人」好像機械人一樣，是大量生產出來的，而且不完美的都被淘汰了。

我比較喜歡當人類，我們有歪曲的笑容、奇怪的鼻子和鬆軟的手臂……然而，在地球上的80億人口中，沒有一個人和我一模一樣。

如果你觀察手造的陶瓷器皿，你會看到不均勻的筆觸、污跡、指紋、裂痕。 這些缺陷使這些器皿變得有價值，因為它們證明每一個器皿是個別地和精心地製造出來的，獨一無二。人類也是這樣！

Born Free 

The most precious thing about being human is our freedom. We can choose what to act on, what to think, what to believe. We can choose to love, to hate, to forgive, to sacrifice, to resist.

When we have free will, it means we are free to make bad choices and to make mistakes. Only someone without free will takes the correct path 100% of the time. So that’s why I will always treasure my chance to make mistakes, and to learn and grow along the way.

人類最珍貴既野就係一出世就有自由。我地可以自己去選擇做咩，諗咩、信咩、愛咩人，憎咩人，可以原諒人、可以犧牲、可以反抗。

因為我地有自由去選擇，所以先會成日撞板。不過我都會好好珍惜有得撞板既機會，因為機械人無自由先無得撞板。

Make a difference 

A while ago, I saw an elderly man in the street struggling to open a coke bottle. I walked over and opened the bottle for him. I still remember the big smile on his face. Another time, I saw a blind man almost crashing into a huge pile of rubbish. A nearby mechanic rushed over, held his arm and steered him in the right direction. 

Another night, an old lady in the street asked me to help call her son. It turned out that she had left her senior care home, gotten lost and was wandering around the streets at night. It took a while to figure out the whole situation, but she eventually returned home safely.

Compared to machines, humans are weak, slow, inefficient and forgetful. But what humans have that machines don’t, is empathy. And with that special power, in our own small ways, we can make a difference.

近排我係街見到一個阿伯開唔到可樂樽，就走去幫佢開左。有次見到個盲人差d撞落d垃圾果度，有個整車師傅即刻拖住佢行。又有一次有個阿婆蕩失路，話無人理佢，叫我打電話比佢個仔。最後佢個仔話佢係老人院走左出黎，話會接佢返去。

人類雖然又無力，做嘢又慢，有時會無記性，無效率，但係人類有既係同理心。我地可以用我地微小既方式，作出改變。

Beach

There are so many specific and interesting things that only a human can feel:
Your grandma’s cool, flabby arm
The second hand heat of a bus seat
Sweat crawling down the back of your knees 
Fizzy soda running down your throat
A satisfying burp
A fart when no one’s around
The pop of a grape
The smell of wet grass
The sound of your heartbeat in your own ears
The sparkly dots you see when you close your eyes…
Sometimes it only takes a gentle breeze to feel alive.

有很多特定和有趣的事情，只有人類才能感受得到： 
你婆婆冰涼、鬆弛的手臂 
巴士座椅的餘溫
汗水在膝蓋後方像螞蟻爬下來 
汽水衝入你喉嚨時的一秒
一個滿心滿足的打嗝
周圍沒有人時放的屁 
葡萄在嘴裡爆開的一刻
雨後草的氣味 
在耳朵裡聽到自己的心跳聲 
當你閉上眼睛時，看到閃閃發光的點... 
有時候，只需要一陣微風，就能感受到自己活著。

Tears

As a kid, if you’re happy and you know it, you clap your hands. And if you’re sleepy, hungry or poopy, you cry. As an adult, we learn to use our words and we don’t need to cry as much.

But I feel like adults actually have more reasons to cry, because we experience more things that are neither just plain happy or sad.

When a suffering relative dies, we’re heartbroken but relieved. When kids grow up, we’re proud but also a bit sad. When friends move to a new country, we’re happy and worried for them. When we witness a war on the other side of the world, we feel both angry at and sad for our fellow humans.

As adults we learn that tears are the feelings we can’t express with words. They are a magical kind of liquid that helps us heal and connects us with other humans.

Crying does not indicate that you are weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you are alive.
- Charlotte Brontë

一個孩子累了、餓了或想大便，就會哭。大人因為學識用語言，所以不需要常常哭。

但我覺得大人其實有更多的理由去哭，因為我們經歷更多的事情。這些事情不只是是簡單的開心或傷心。

一個重病的親人去世時，我們感到心碎但又鬆一口氣。當孩子長大後，我們感到驕傲，但又不捨得。朋友移民時，我們為他們的新生活感到開心，但又掛心。看到世界另一邊的戰爭，我們為人類感到又憤怒又痛心。

成年人知道眼淚是無法用言語表達的感受。眼淚是一種神奇的液體，可以幫助我們復原，又將我們和其他人聯繫起來。

哭泣不代表你軟弱。從出生起，它就一直是你還活著的標誌。 - 夏洛蒂·勃朗特

Wall

Humans are fragile. Our bones break, and we bleed. But I read an interesting story about early civilizations. Historians have found a femur that was broken and then healed in a cast. This means that when people were injured, others would help heal him, take care of him and wait for him to recover before continuing on their journey together. 

Waiting for the sick and the weak seems illogical, because it slows the whole team down, and it might even put the team in danger. But this strange thing called compassion is what makes us human, and we have survived because of it.

A while ago I watched a movie called “In Broad Daylight” about elderly abuse in Hong Kong. Although the elderly often feel like they are a burden to society, I hope that our whole community can continue on our journey together. When we know that there are other people waiting for you and staying by your side, we can walk not faster, but further.

其實人類好脆弱，d 骨會斷，又好容易流血。但我睇過一個人類學家話，第一個代表文明既野就係一個斷左之後又復原左返既大腿骨。當其他人斷左腳，人類會幫佢打石膏，等埋佢復原，先再一齊上路。

人類同動物或者機械人既分別就係會等埋一齊行。要等埋最軟弱果個人，會拖慢成隊人，又危險，但人類就係用呢個方法一路生存落去。

我睇左電影《白日之下》，d老人家話老咗就係包袱，社會遺棄佢地。希望我地慢慢行，都可以一齊行。當你知道有人等埋你既時候，咁我地可以行得遠d，開心d。

Wonderfully made

「我的肺腑是你所造的；我在母腹中，你已覆庇我。 我要稱謝你，因我受造，奇妙可畏；你的作為奇妙，這是我心深知道的。」 詩篇 139:13 - 14

這是我們整個月曆的精髓，因為人類脆弱而珍貴、糊塗卻可愛，神手所造就是如此奇妙可畏！

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,I know that full well.

Psalms 139: 13-14

This bible verse perfectly sums up the idea of this year’s calendar. Us humans are vulnerable, but precious, somewhat silly, but so loved! We are God’s handiwork, and God’s work is amazing and beautiful.

Limited

This might be my favourite picture of this year's calendar. It's a bit like the ending of a fairy tale, with a little girl, a robot, and animals walking together in the soft light of the sunset. There are so many limitations in our lives -  our intellect, time, or even imagination... Sometimes we spend all our energy just struggling to survive. But in some moments, what we do together is so beautiful, and carries unimaginable meaning. 

These moments will remain in eternity.

也許這一幅畫是我今年月曆裡的最愛，有點像童話故事的結尾，小女孩、機械人和動物在日落的柔光下，一齊行。我們的人生裡有很多限制，不論是我們的腦、時間、甚至是想像力……有時候，單單是生存下來就已經花光所有力氣。但在某些時刻，我們一起做的，卻是何等美麗，帶著我們想像不到的意義。

這些時刻，會存留在永恆裡。

Kindness

In the forest, all the animals like to wear hats, and they each have their favorite one. Mr. Turtle accidentally lost his hat, and he’s been searching for it all day long. Suddenly, he sees a little girl holding his hat, and then she gently puts it on him.

I drew this picture based on this story in my heart, and it was quite interesting to imagine what kind of hats the animals would wear. I have always liked to draw forests. It seems like a place in which many stories would take place.

The scenery changes as you turn a corner in the forest. When the sun goes down, the temperature changes. The little girl bends down to put the hat on Mr. Turtle and this simple action is like a tiny light, spreading out into the dim forest. The robot stands by, watching, not yet understanding, curious… 

森林裡，各位小動物都喜歡帶帽子，並各有喜好。烏龜先生唔覺意掉失了他的帽子，沿路搵呀搵、搵呀搵，突然見到有個小女孩拿著他的帽子，並輕輕為他帶上。

想像各位小動物會帶什麼款式的帽，也蠻有趣的。我一直喜歡畫森林、畫樹，好像很多故事會在這個地方發生，轉個彎，風景又不同了，太陽下山，溫度又不同了。小女孩彎著腰，為烏龜先生帶帽，是一個非常簡單的動作，但就像一點亮光，散播出去，而機械人站在一旁看著，好奇著……

Specks

There is a song I like very much. There’s a line in the song that goes like this:  “If the stars were made to worship, so will I”. The writer feels that he was created to worship God. Maybe this is called destiny, or more simply, the reason for his existence.

One of the characteristics of human beings is that we inevitably think about the meaning of our existence. Where do we come from, why are we born, and where will we go after death? These are very basic questions.

Even though our lives are short and there are so many things we can’t control,  we still think, search, and try to understand these questions. This is one of the most interesting things about human beings. Even though we are as small as a speck of dust, when we see the vast universe around us, we have an innate desire to try to understand and find meaning.

有一首我蠻喜歡的歌，入面其中一句歌詞是 “If the stars were made to worship, so will I”

那句歌詞其實是一個假設，「如果星星被造是為了來敬拜你，我也是。」是詞人藉此表達他感受到自己受造是為了敬拜神，也許這被稱為是天命，或是再簡單一點，他找到他存在的原因。

人類其中一個特質就是會思考生存的意義，從何而來、為何而生、死後會去那兒，是很基本的問題。

縱使我們的生命是何等的短暫，我們控制到的事又何得的少，但我們卻會思考、尋找、嘗試去理解。

這是我覺得人類其中一個最有趣的地方，像一個與生俱來的渴望，面對浩瀚的宇宙，一粒微塵也會思考，而且想得到一樣東西，名為意義。

Accept

No one is perfect. And if there somehow were a perfect person, that would feel scary. You might suspect that person was a robot.  

We seem to be always led by our to do lists. Even if we had some spare time, we’d be finding more things to do. By being busy all the time, we are gradually losing ourselves. 

Accepting yourself seems simple, but it is actually very difficult. I have a friend who often sees the strengths of others, and it always amazes me. When I am around her, I like myself more. And when I like myself, I become a better person.

沒有人是完美的，如果有，那應該是非常可怕，你會懷疑那是機械人。我們總是被要做的事牽著走，縱使有時間，我們也會為自己找很多節目，漸漸自己跟自己個心的距離愈想愈遠…… 接納自己，說起來好像很簡單，但其實是很困難的。我有一位朋友，時常看到別人的優點，而我總是為此感到很神奇，我覺得在她身邊的人，也會因為她的說話而變得更喜歡自己，再而成為更好的人。

Rest

Some people work very hard, to the point of exhaustion. I always want to give them some words of encouragement, but I find it difficult to do so. And even if I did, they most probably wouldn’t listen to me.

I actually really appreciate the concept of hard work. I like to watch videos or animations where the protagonist is very passionate about something, and then their hard work is rewarded in the end.

But in reality, many people try too hard to force themselves to do something. Seeing this really breaks my heart. Even robots need to rest! If you can’t do something at this moment, your body and mind are telling you to stop and take a good rest!

有些人是很努力的，到了累壞自己的程度，對著這些一直努力不懈的朋友，經常想勸勉對方，但卻是很難說出口，縱使說了對方也不一定會聽到。其實我是很欣賞「努力」這個東西，很喜歡看劇集或動畫裡主角很熱血，然後努力又會得到回報！但現實裡，很多人會努力到勉強自己，看著令人覺得心疼，真的連機械人也要休息呢～ 如果這一刻做不來，是你的身心告訴你，要停一停，好好休息～

Silly

I love how kids play just for the sake of playing, without a care in the world. They experiment and try things without calculation.

As an adult, you can't just play without any restraint, but being silly once in a while makes ordinary days interesting and unforgettable.

很喜愛小孩的純粹，沒有顧慮的玩耍、沒有計算的嘗試。成了大人，的確不能沒有節制地去玩，但偶爾傻一下，令平凡的日子都變得有趣和難忘。