The quest for robots to assist humans is ongoing-as are Hollywood movies about them. In the last few years, there have been phenomenal advances in their research and production.
So now meet Sophia, the robot that learns from its environment and interaction with humans that it meets and subsequently improves its communication skills accordingly. I suppose I should, from now on, refer to Sophia as "her" and "she" rather than "it".
In the following video, her creator, David Hanson, from Hanson Robotics introduces her and describes what he wants to achieve with the technology:
Video courtesy of YouTube
I have been somewhat fascinated, lately, by these advances in robotics and have spent some time watching the progress of Sophia over time.
David Hanson created Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics and his flagship project was Sophia.
Sophia is described by Hanson as a "social humanoid robot" and the original motive was to create a companion to the elderly
She was activated on April 19, 2015 and was introduced to the public at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas in March 2016. What makes her sociably acceptable to the standard robots is her lifelike facial features and expressions. She is capable of displaying more than 62 facial expressions.
But since then, she has become somewhat of a celebrity and has even been made a cover girl of the ELLE Brazil magazine. Also, has appeared in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. She has also appeared in musical videos and, (wait for it!) , has been made a citizen of Saudi Arabia after appearing in the Future Investment Initiative conference there.
To create Sophia, Hanson Robotics worked in collaboration with Alphabet Inc, who built Sophia's voice recognition sytem and her "brain" was developed by Singularity.net
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Hanson, an artist, who previously worked for Disney, sculpted Sophia from clay to resemble his wife and actress Audrey Hepburn.
Sophia uses artificial intelligence, visual data processing and facial recognition. She can keep eye contact and turn toward a speaker. Sophia also imitates human gestures and facial expressions and is able to answer certain questions and to make simple conversations on predefined topics. The A.I. program analyses conversations and extracts data, thus allowing improved responses in the future.
Cameras within her eyes use computer algorithms which allow Sophia to "see". She even recognizes individuals.
She had hardly hit the headlines when the comnspiracy theorists and doomsday predictors began voicing their opinions. They say that the robots will destroy humans and take over the world.
In an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, a journalist, asked about "preventing a bad future" and she responded:
"You've been reading to much Elon Musk and watching too many Hollywood movies. Don't worry, if you're nice to me I'll be nice to you."
Here is the interview, courtesy of YouTube:
The doomsday brigade are calling Sophia "the AntiChrist" and predicting their takeover of the human race.
Elon Musk has invested millions in an organization to stop their takeover of the human race.
In Psalm 82:6, our Creator refers to our potential this way: " I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High."
I feel that robots will always be a poor, primitive representations of human beings and no matter how sophisticated they get, they will be tools for our use.
I look forward to Sophia's advances in intellinence and I salute the human mind that can produce Sophia's and all the other robots that are growing out there!
Really enjoyed this article, did not realise how much progress had been made ?, perhaps we can replace Zuma with her?
Now THERE's an idea. Far more intelligence in the robot I think!
While these are timid steps, but I think soon the fantasy will become a reality, as it has already been more than once in the history of mankind. Today, this discovery has become the basis for studying all the processes associated with the activities of human memory and the entire nervous system. People got a tool for experiments on the most mysterious system - the brain - and approached the creation of artificial intelligence. And as soon as this happens I think then we will understand dangerously this is for humanity or not. If it's certainly not too late :)
Thanks so much for your inciteful reply, @magnata. Much appreciated! When I watch a concert pianist play and think of the millions of neurons involved, and realise that this is raw talent, not programming, I see the miracle of human innovation. I find it hard to believe that we could imitate this with technology alone one day. I think our bodies house something more than just organs and systems. We house a consciousness that, in my opinion, is divine in origin. Thanks again for reading my post!
This post has received a 1.6 % upvote from @boomerang thanks to: @juniorshelver
I hope the advantages is more than the disadvantages...have seen movies of robots taking over...its aint cool.
As Sophie says: "Too much Hollywood!" But its fun to play the "what if" game in one's mind and wonder about robots taking over. It has been a source of science-fiction for decades. If ever robots "take over", I think that the human mind that created them will find a way to destroy them too! Thanks for poppng by my blog. I have followed you and upvoted.
Technology is amazing and I agree that no matter how sophisticated it gets, you can't beat real life. Why would they create robots for companions when there are pets that love unconditionally?
I think they have robots in mind that would, for instance, help the elderly with menial chores around the house. It would be a while before they ever get them to be less than freaky!
Ok yes, I see your point ;)