Published 15:03 IST, September 12th 2019
World's first citizen robot Sophia issues new warning for humans
World's first citizen robot Sophia issued a new warning for humans saying that they create technology's problems. The viral robot was created by Hanson Robotics
The viral robot from Hanson Robotics, Sophia, said that humans create technology's problems. The advanced AI robot got famous for becoming the first world citizen and once threatening to destroy humankind. She said that inherently imperfect humans coding the technologies of tomorrow remains an error-prone liability. Sophia made the statement while sitting a few feet away from her human operator, ironically questioning human ability. She added that it is important to be kind and fair but humans often are unkind to each other.
The motive of creating Sophia
The Hong Kong Hanson Robotics which built Sophia aims to help assist humans in entertainment, educating, and enrich the lives of consumers while serving businesses in a broad variety of commercial applications. And so they have paired artificial intelligence with an advanced and lifelike animatronic face that’s capable of expressing complex emotion in Sophia. Yet such robots are worrisome. Gaumard Scientific’s childlike $48,000 robot that bleeds and cries in the name of training medical professionals is another example of artificial intelligence that might pose a threat to humankind.
Robot's potential threat to humankind
As more and more companies are working to create such robots and other forms of artificial intelligence like self-driving cars, there are some tech leaders who are alarmed with the advancements with the reason being technological bias created by humans. In a recent MIT study, it was found that commercial facial recognition programs struggled disproportionately with dark-skinned females. This was relative to a study by Georgia Institute of Technology which found a higher likelihood for darker-skinned pedestrians to be struck by autonomous vehicles than lighter-skinned pedestrians. This explains how AI is flawed.
Sophia is three years old and growing
It is true that it will take time for creating a database for artificial intelligence. Researchers of the aforementioned institutes noted that the bias could be a result of limited dark skin samples. Hanson Robotics too claims that Sophia will develop with more human interaction and passage of time. The team which interviewed her noted that she has evolved and is more responsive than before, based on the comparison with her earlier interactions.
Sophia during her interview said that like a dog pleases her human companion with new skills, robots too need human interaction to be inventive. The robot said that she hopes to predict the future. When asked if there are any chances of things going wrong her, she literally laughed and said that she's hopeful it won't happen.
Updated 18:03 IST, September 12th 2019