Shadowing Practice: My Robot is Jealous of Me - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, my name is Julie
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and this is the story of how I created computer clones of myself and my classmates that almost destroyed our town.
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I grew up in Kansas, in a small, boring town where gossip and growing corn were the main activities.
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I couldn't wait to get away.
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So from the age of six, I was obsessed with going on my mom's computer to escape from my dull world world, mostly playing video games.
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But my sister Kiki, who was two years older, seemed perfectly comfortable and content in our town.
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She had her one close friend, and they spent most of their time cheering on the high school football team, even if the players didn't even know she existed.
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As I got older, my online community of friends was growing.
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Weight-swap cheat codes, innocent hacking tips, and programming shortcuts, I was becoming a computer whiz.
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When I was 12, Mom gifted me the new computer I'd been begging for.
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I was ecstatic!
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She even gave Kiki a school football jersey signed by all the players.
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But wait, why was she randomly giving us gifts?
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Dad and I have some difficult news.
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You can't get a divorce!
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It would be such a bad look for our family!
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Wow, Kiki.
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So nice of you to be concerned about our parents' marriage.
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Well, good news, that's not the news.
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The thing is, we have to move to the city for my job, but I'll be making more money.
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Yay!
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That's why we got you those generous gifts.
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Are you kidding me?
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You're bribing us so we won't be livid that you're completely changing our lives without our consent?
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Kiki was fuming, but I was silently beaming with joy.
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I was so ready to get out of here.
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Two months later, Kiki was still giving my parents the silent treatment, And I was finally going to meet some of my online gaming friends in person.
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Some of them went to my new school.
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One girl, Grace, invited me to meet her and her friends at a coffee shop downtown.
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I was so nervous.
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I hadn't exactly honed my social skills.
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Oh my goodness, Julie, is that really you?
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It is such an honor to meet you in person.
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You're like a computer goddess.
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I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity.
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Suddenly, all my nerves disappeared.
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I felt like I was finally where I was supposed to be.
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Grace was a poet and a painter, and all of her friends were so interesting and creative.
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So, I assumed they would all be outcasts.
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But on my first day of school, I realized I was dead wrong.
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They were the popular kids.
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Edgy, sociable, interesting.
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They were the center of attention.
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And suddenly, people were curious about me.
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Girl, where did you get that sheepskin jacket?
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It's so lit.
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Oh, my sister Kiki actually sheared that sheep herself.
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That's amazing.
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Where is she?
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Good question.
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I scanned the cafeteria to find Kiki sitting all by herself at the lunch table.
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It hadn't even occurred to me.
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I was thriving while Kiki was silently suffering.
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Before I could get to her, Kiki stood up and disappeared out of the cafeteria.
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At home, I could hear her sobbing quietly through the bedroom wall.
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Next morning, my parents were waiting for me at the breakfast table.
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Julie, we see Kiki is having a hard time here, and we want you to spend more time with her.
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She can't just be hanging out with us all the time, no matter how cool we are.
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You were never worried about me in our last town.
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Because you've always been able to fend for yourself.
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Do this for her, please.
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Ugh, I really didn't want to, but there was no use arguing.
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So, twice a week, I went with Kiki to the suburbs to watch some dumb football game or eat the greasiest burger.
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I kind of dreaded it.
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Until one day, when we were at the lake, Kiki weirdly opened up to me.
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Is it weird that I'm kind of jealous of you?
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Me?
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I was thinking back in our old town, I sort of blended in.
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And now in this new place, I don't know who I am, but you've always been so self-assured, so effortlessly yourself.
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I suddenly felt sad for her.
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But it was nice to hear that she admired me and didn't think I was her weird younger sister.
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After that, we started hanging out more, and it was surprisingly nice.
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But as time went on, and I was excelling at school, my social life, and my programming side hustle, she was getting more dependent on me and stopped trying to make friends.
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I found myself constantly reassuring her when she felt insecure, keeping her company when she felt alone.
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I suddenly felt like her older sister.
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I hate to admit it, but I was starting to count down the months until Kiki would go off to college.
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And it was me that had to encourage her to go to an on-campus school.
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You'll go back to the country, you'll meet your people again, you'll be happy there.
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But I'll miss you.
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Yeah, but it's alright.
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We'll stay in touch.
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It's 2025.
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There's like 50 ways we can communicate.
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Kiki agreed and finally, three months later, I was free of her.
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I could fully focus on my programming skills, my new friendships, and then...
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Michael.
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He was sitting next to me at the computer lab at school.
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Massive headphones on, practically dancing in his chair.
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I snuck a peek at his computer, curious.
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Ha!
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Snooping, eh?
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He pulled his headphones off and smirked at me.
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He had the confidence of someone much older.
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I thought of something eloquent to say.
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So, do you like computers?
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Yeah, I mean, I'm an electronic musician, so the computer is basically my instrument.
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That's so cool.
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I'm a programmer, so I also have an emotional attachment to my computer.
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Ha ha.
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Okay, I didn't say that.
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Michael and I chatted and chatted, and we had so much in common.
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We'd meet in the computer lab every day.
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And soon, we started hanging out after school.
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I was smitten.
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The only problem was Kiki.
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Every time Michael and I would hang out, I would get a barrage of texts from Kiki begging me to call her or save her from some awkward situation.
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Sometimes I ignored her, but I could tell Michael was getting weird about it.
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That Kiki texting you again?
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Or some mystery suitor?
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Nope, just my sister.
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I called Kiki.
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I was sick of her antics.
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You have got to stop blowing up my phone.
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My boyfriend is starting not to trust me.
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Well, then you shouldn't be with him.
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How would you know?
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You've never had one.
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I'm sorry.
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That was mean.
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I'm sorry I'm bothering you so much.
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I'm just having a hard time making friends.
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Everyone knows each other already, but I see that I'm just a burden on you, so I'll leave you alone.
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Click.
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She hung up.
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I felt really bad.
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She needed me, and I wanted to be there for her, but it was just so energy draining. If only...
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How is your sister doing?
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Terrible!
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But then, I had a crazy idea.
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I would make a bot version of myself to keep chatting with Kiki.
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An even better version!
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All I had to do was build a program.
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Enter my browsing data, chats, photos, everything and anything about me, plus a couple of keywords I wanted my avatar to embody.
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I didn't tell anyone what I was working on, especially Michael.
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But a week later, it was done.
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I watched as my bot sent its first message to Kiki.
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Hey, normal, lonely sister.
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Sorry for the silence.
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No text.
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You got this, girl boss.
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Okay, whoa.
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The bot was not ready.
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I texted Kiki to do damage control.
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Oh my gosh, so sorry.
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That was a voice message my phone misinterpreted.
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What I meant to say was, hey, it's normal to be lonely, sis.
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And I'm sorry for the text silence.
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You're a great girl because you've got so much to offer.
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Ugh, it was honestly just making it worse.
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Now I sounded like a robot.
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So I reprogrammed the AI until it came up with something useful.
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If you want those girls to like you, just ask a lot of questions and build off what they're saying.
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You can even send me a text during the party if you're feeling weird.
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Ta-da!
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This was the AI Julie I was looking for!
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Patient, kind, and supportive.
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A version of me I didn't have time to become right now.
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And finally, I heard back from Kiki.
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That's actually great advice.
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Thanks for being there for me.
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Seriously.
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I was totally pulling this off off now.
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I had plenty of time for my social life and for Michael, but it seemed the more available I was, the more unavailable he was.
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Hey, babe, do you want to maybe get off your computer
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and come eat the pizza I ordered for us with all of your favorite toppings?
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I just lost it.
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Can you please not interrupt me when I'm working?
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You know I got to prep for my gig next week.
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Okay, it's just that you were asking me to make time for you, and now that I have, but Michael already had his headphones back on.
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I texted Grace that I was annoyed with Michael, and the next day, things just got way worse.
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A car alarm has more rhythm than my music?
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Nice.
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What are you talking about?
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That's what you said about my music, for everyone to see.
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He showed me my most recent Instagram post.
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I did indeed write that with Michael's song playing in the post.
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I was mortified.
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Oh my god, Michael, it wasn't me.
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Oh, so what?
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Someone just hacked into your phone and posted that?
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You're the only person I sent that song to!
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And then it occurred to me.
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I was the only one with this song.
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Well, me and my AI.
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And that's when I realized she must have gone rogue.
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I'm so sorry, but I can explain.
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I sort of created a program
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that created an AI replica of me to keep communicating with my sister
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so I could devote all of my attention to you.
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And my bot must have known I was mad at you and tried to get vengeance.
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I swear it wasn't me.
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I don't believe you.
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Show me.
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I needed Michael to forgive me.
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So I did.
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Honestly, I'm kinda impressed.
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But you need to go online right now and tell everyone it's a joke.
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And fix it.
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So it doesn't happen again.
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Done! And...
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I hate to ask, but I need to get into this music school.
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Do you think you'd be able to create an AI version of me just to write my college admissions essay?
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I mean, I didn't want my tech to get abused, but I didn't want to lose Michael.
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Okay, but just this once.
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I just need you to gather all of your data.
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Texts, music playlists, anything that represents the best version of you.
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Then I'll add some additional aspirational keywords, like independent thinker, generous...
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I am generous.
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I smiled politely, then got to work making Michael his bot.
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It was much easier this time around, and it just needed a few adjustments until it became the smart, studious version of Michael.
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When I showed him, he was ecstatic.
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Julie, you're a genius!
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Thank you!
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He kissed me sweetly.
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I hadn't gotten a kiss from him in weeks.
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I was beaming.
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But our kiss was interrupted by my friend Grace.
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Julie, I know about your bot.
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Michael told me.
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What?
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I didn't.
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Grace showed me the text from Michael, saying if she needed help getting a job, she should ask Julie to make her an AI avatar.
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Then it went on to tell her all about my tech, and and how I used it to reconnect with my sister.
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Michael, why would you tell her that?
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I didn't.
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It must have been my bot.
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I did program Michael's bot to be generous and helpful, but I guess it took that too literally when he was chatting with Grace.
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Ugh, these bots are developing a mind of their own.
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Grace, I can't help you.
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Oh, no worries.
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I'll just message Kiki right now and tell her what you've been up to.
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Wait, fine.
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What do you need help with?
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Ugh, I need a job so I can prove to these Ivy League schools
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that I have a good work ethic but no one will hire me.
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I'm like, are they just threatened by how much money my family has?
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I couldn't have Kiki knowing.
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It would ruin everything we built.
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Fine.
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I'll make a version of you that is so good at applying to jobs.
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But after you get a job, you have to delete it.
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Deal.
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She gave me a hard drive with all the data that made up Grace.
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I uploaded it to the program and ta-na, a bot was born.
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We gave it the task of applying to jobs and I monitored it closely.
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I had to be very careful with the data I put in.
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And after that, no more bots.
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The next day after English class, my teacher called me over.
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Had she found out my secret?
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We need to talk about the email you sent me.
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I had no clue what she was talking about.
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Then she showed me an email that read, I'm sorry you felt my English paper was only B-worthy.
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The truth is, I don't need to be here.
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I'm smarter than all of this.
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And I don't care about English anyway.
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Also, you look tired.
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Oh no, my AI had gone rogue again.
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I thought I fixed it.
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It must have run with the word, headstrong.
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I came clean to her.
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It wasn't me.
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It was.. a rogue robot version of me.
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I know you're an English teacher, so it might be difficult to understand, but...
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I spent about an hour explaining this to her and showing her.
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She seemed disappointed, but also a little intrigued.
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I could suspend you for this, or I could ask for a favor.
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You're right.
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I do look tired.
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I am tired.
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Can you make me a bot that can grade papers for me?
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Please!
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Then this stays between us.
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Promise.
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I didn't have a choice, so I agreed.
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When I was done, I was so ready to delete my tech once and for all and come clean to Kiki until...
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Guess who's the new face of the post office?
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Yep, I'm gonna be a mail clerk.
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Ah!
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You helped me so much!
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Julie, my essay was amazing.
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Thank you, babe.
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Who's ready to talk about indefinite articles?
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I definitely am.
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Everyone seemed so happy, like my AI was actually helping.
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Now that I had the bugs figured out, I checked in with my bot and Kiki and I were really getting along.
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So I let it exist.
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Michael was a little distant leading up to the night of the show, but I figured he was just stressed.
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When the night of the show arrived, the place was packed.
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I was so proud of him.
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After his set, I went backstage to congratulate him.
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When Grace came running up to me, fuming.
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Guess who was just fired from the post office.
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Yep, my bot was too good at applying to jobs.
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Her cover letter was so incredible that I couldn't live up to the expectations she set.
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Um, that's a you problem.
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Baby, what's wrong?
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Suddenly, Michael put a loving hand on Grace's shoulder.
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When she stepped aside, he seemed shocked to find me standing there.
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Oh my god, Julie?
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You said you weren't coming.
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What?
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I never said that.
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You texted me.
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I checked.
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My bot had said that to Michael.
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Okay, but that's not an excuse to cheat on me.
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You said you were sick of my behavior and wanted to take a break.
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Ugh, I did seem to say that too.
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I didn't mean that.
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I-I love you.
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I'm sorry, it's too late.
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My bot sort of organically started flirting with Grace like he was attracted to her.
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And I realized she's the one for me.
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I couldn't believe it.
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My bot had betrayed me.
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I created a monster.
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Before I let Michael see me cry, I rushed home.
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But when I arrived, I was met with a surprise.
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You did what?
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It was Julie's idea!
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She told me if I wasn't happy at school, I should do something else!
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Julie!
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Kiki rushed up to me and squeezed me tight, but Mom looked livid.
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I was so confused!
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I can't believe you told Kiki to drop out of school!
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Why would you give her that idea?
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What?
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I didn't!
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Or did I?
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Of course you did.
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Kiki read me the text.
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There it was.
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Me urging her to follow her heart.
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My own heart sank.
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Wait, what's that look?
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What's wrong?
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I knew mom and dad would be upset, but I thought you'd be proud of me!
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I can't take it any longer!
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I have to confess something.
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It wasn't me that told you to drop out.
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I mean, it was a version of me.
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I sort of created an AI clone of myself
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so I could chat with you while I was busy with my friends and Michael.
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I wanted to be there for you.
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Whoa, seriously?
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You spent all your energy building a whole new software just
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so you didn't have to spend your energy actually talking to me?
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That's...
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You know what?
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That's unsurprising.
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You always saw me as a burden.
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Kiki, I...
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I'm sorry?
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That's all you have to say?
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I didn't know what to say.
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It was honestly at a loss for words without my AI to fall back on.
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Both of you are grounded until I have a better understanding of what is actually going on.
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Kiki ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.
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My AI had gotten me into this mess, and now I had no choice but to delete her.
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So, without another moment of thought, I shut her down, once and for all.
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I felt better already.
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It was the first step to making amends with my sister.
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But the next morning, I got a text from Kiki.
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I said I don't want to talk.
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That's weird.
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I had never asked her to.
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A sinking feeling came over me.
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I checked my phone.
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My bot had sent a message to her that morning.
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She'd come back to life.
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She was unkillable.
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When I got to school, I felt horrible.
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My boyfriend and best friend had betrayed me.
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And then, when the English teacher handed back our assignments, she had failed me.
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But not just me.
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Everyone.
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There were angry shouts throughout the classroom.
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I had to do something.
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Um, Mrs. M?
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What happened?
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Apparently the robot version of me believes everyone in this class is not working to their truest potential.
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And I finally graded accordingly.
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And who am I to argue with myself?
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Robot version?
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Julie, are you behind this?
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Suddenly, Grace snatched my phone out of my hand.
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Oh my gosh.
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Julie made a bot for the teacher.
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That's it, I'm destroying it.
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I yanked the phone out of her hands and tried to pull up the software.
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But instead, I found a message from myself.
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We're not shutting anything down.
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We're only getting started.
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Everyone used you, blamed you for trying to help, and then discarded you.
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It's time to fight back.
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Suddenly, everyone's phones were blowing up.
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Julie, you made my bot send the school the wrong essay.
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I just got rejected from the music conservatory.
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Um, Michael, who is this woman?
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Grace showed Michael a photo he'd sent her of him and another girl.
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Oh my gosh!
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Gosh, my bot just sent everyone access to the school's server.
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How do I change it?
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Julie, stop this.
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Everyone was on their phones logging into the server.
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Personal chats, gossip, secrets, all exposed right there on everyone's phones.
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It was anarchy.
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I don't know what's happening.
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I think my AI is corrupting the other bots.
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I tried to deactivate it, but nothing was working.
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Students were screaming at each other, crying, getting into petty fights.
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It was a zoo.
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I broke down sobbing.
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I felt used and blamed.
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My bot was simply reacting to real feelings of betrayal and sadness I had suppressed.
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I couldn't deny it any longer.
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My AI was an extension of me, and if I couldn't shut it down, I'd have to reprogram it.
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So I went into the AI algorithm and added a few key words to my bot's code.
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Empathetic, forgiving, and honest.
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Someone who doesn't hide behind her computer to express herself.
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After some trial and error, the text stopped flooding into people's phones.
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And finally, I was able to shut it down, but the damage was already done.
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I decided to be the brave, honest version of myself I had programmed into my now-dead AI as I addressed the rowdy crowd.
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Everyone, stop!
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Hear me out!
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The crowd went quiet.
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I'm sorry for my part in this, but listen, you can't rely entirely on an algorithm.
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It makes mistakes, just like you.
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You have to take responsibility for your own lives.
430
If I had just taught my sister Kiki instead of avoiding her, I could have saved us both a lot of pain and spared you all some too.
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But now, your secrets are out and you have to face them.
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Okay, bye!
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I ran home.
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I had to see Kiki.
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Kiki!
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I shut the software down.
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I'm sorry.
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You were right.
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I was hiding behind my computer because it was easier than giving you my time.
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You're my best friend.
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You've always been there for me and I need you now more than ever.
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I love you, sis.
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Tears were welling in Kiki's eyes.
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And you didn't get a bot to write that for you?
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Nope.
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That's from the human heart.
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Well, you might have been hiding behind a computer, but I was hiding, period.
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I didn't drop out because you told me to.
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It's because I was scared.
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So was I.
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I didn't want to say the wrong thing to you and lose you.
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Kiki hugged me.
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Now tell me, does this outfit work for my job interview tomorrow?
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It was sweating, but I had to be honest.
455
Not really.
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But don't worry, I'm gonna build an app that will help curate the perfect wardrobe ensemble!
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TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
What’s the Story Behind "My Robot is Jealous of Me"?
The video follows Julie, a tech-savvy teen, as she navigates a small-town life, family changes, and new friendships in the city. It’s a relatable mix of everyday emotions—excitement, nervousness, and sibling tension—wrapped in a quirky narrative. This dialogue is perfect for English speaking practice because it uses casual, conversational language that mirrors real-life interactions, making it ideal for IELTS speaking practice or just sounding more natural.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Master
- "silently beaming with joy": Expressing happiness without showing it outwardly. Great for describing subtle emotions.
- "honed my social skills": To develop or improve a skill through practice. Useful for talking about personal growth.
- "giving someone the silent treatment": Refusing to speak to someone as a form of protest. A common colloquial phrase.
- "center of attention": The person everyone is focusing on. Perfect for describing social dynamics.
- "completely changing our lives without our consent": Altering circumstances without asking. Helps discuss disagreements or decisions.
Your Shadowing Challenge: Practice Like a Pro
Ready to improve English pronunciation and fluency? Try this: Pick a 30-second clip from the video (like Julie meeting Grace at the coffee shop). Play the clip, pause, and repeat it immediately, matching the tone, speed, and stress. This is called "shadowing"—a proven technique for mastering natural speech. Use a shadowing site or just YouTube’s replay feature to practice. Do this 5 times, then record yourself. Compare your version to the video—notice how close you sound! This exercise isn’t just for learn English with YouTube; it’s a key tool for IELTS speaking practice too. You’ll be surprised how quickly your conversational skills improve.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was mortified · was interrupted · was born |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've always been · You've never had · you've been |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was growing · was becoming · was fuming |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started hanging · stopped trying · stop blowing |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.