Talkers and Doers
Imagine you are hungry and you ask two different helpers for help. You ask Helper A: "What is a good snack?" Helper A says, "Apples are great! Or maybe crackers with peanut butter." And then... Helper A just sits there waiting for you to do the rest. You ask Helper B: "I want a snack." Helper B walks to the kitchen, grabs an apple, washes it, and brings it to you. Both helpers were helpful. But they did something very different. Helper A told you things. Helper B did things.
Talkers: Helpers That Answer Questions
A talker is a helper that gives you information. You ask a question, and the talker gives you an answer. That is wonderful! But the talker does not go and do anything else. The talker just waits for the next question. You have met talkers before. When you look something up on the internet and it shows you facts, that is a talker. When you ask a voice assistant what the weather is and it tells you, that is a talker. Talkers are great at answering questions. They are not so great at actually making things happen.
A talker gives you information when you ask. A doer takes action and makes something happen in the world. Both are useful — but they work in completely different ways!
Doers: Helpers That Take Action
A doer is a helper that actually does something. A doer does not just tell you the answer — a doer goes and makes things happen. Think about your family's robot vacuum. You do not have to ask it questions. It does not recite facts about dirt. It just rolls around the floor and sucks up crumbs. It is doing a job! Or think about a timer on your microwave. You set it for two minutes. It counts down and beeps when the time is up. It took an action for you. Doers are all around us — and some of the most exciting doers in the world use artificial intelligence, or AI, to decide what to do next.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
Here is a story to make the difference crystal clear. Sophia wanted to wake up on time for school. She asked her older brother Max what time she should set her alarm. Max said, "Set it for 7:00 AM." Max was a talker — he gave good information. Sophia then set her alarm clock. The next morning the alarm beeped at exactly 7:00 AM and woke her up. The alarm was a doer — it took action. Max helped. The alarm helped. But only the alarm actually did something in the world while Sophia was sleeping.
Match each helper to whether it is a talker or a doer.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
Understanding the difference between talkers and doers helps you understand one of the most exciting ideas in AI. The very next lesson introduces a special kind of AI helper called an AI agent — and AI agents are super-powered doers!
Which of these is the best example of a doer?
You ask a voice assistant: "What movies are playing nearby?" It reads you a list of movie titles. What kind of helper is it being right now?
Talker or Doer? A Walk Around Your World
- Walk around your home — or just look around the room you are in right now.
- Find five helpers of any kind: devices, apps, people, or things.
- For each helper, ask: does this helper give me information (talker), take action in the world (doer), or both?
- Write or draw each helper and label it: T for talker, D for doer, or B for both.
- Share your list with someone and talk about one helper that surprised you.