If You Don't Hate AI Robos Yet, You Will #Science

Sophia, a humanoid robot, is the main attraction at a conference on artificial intelligence this week but her technology has raised concerns for future human jobs


Sophia smiles mischievously, bats her eyelids and tells a joke. Without the mess of cables that make up the back of her head, you could almost mistake her for a human.

The humanoid robot, created by Hanson robotics, is the main attraction at a UN-hosted conference in Geneva this week on how artificial intelligence can be used to benefit humanity.

Phys.org:  AI 'good for the world'... says ultra-lifelike robot

Oh, joy.  Now Siri has a face and it's even more of a hassle to turn it off because it wants to benefit humanity ... but ... this human would be most benefited by the absence of any damn Jehovah's Witness robos who want to save my body and my soul.


Sophia herself insisted "the pros outweigh the cons" when it comes to artificial intelligence.
"AI is good for the world, helping people in various ways," she told AFP, tilting her head and furrowing her brow convincingly.

Work is underway to make artificial intelligence "emotionally smart, to care about people," she said, insisting that "we will never replace people, but we can be your friends and helpers."

- PO

Ed:  Siri went Madison Avenue for the downtown sell!

Buy two and get one free plus a free toaster for your kitchen.  We just want to help.

Say there, Sophia, we have one tiny observation that people don't care about people.  We don't need the editorial but the CEO mandate is to make money; it's not about saving kids in Bangladesh.

Also, ya eyelash-battin' robo floozy, who needs a helper or a friend when we can find those in the people who really do care (i.e. not CEOs).


How about the Florence Nightingale pitch:

But like his progeny, he insisted that "unintended consequences, or possible negative uses (of AI) seem to be very small compared to the benefit of the technology."

AI is for instance expected to revolutionise healthcare and education, especially in rural areas with shortages of doctors and teachers.

- PO

That's all very well and it's true but it has nothing to do with some robo hooker saying she wants to be my friend.  The degradation and marginalization of the meaning of real friendships has been one of the hallmarks of a woebegone age but there's a counter to that and it's not robos.  (Ithaka:  Are Friends Better for Us than Family? #Science | #Music)

Note:  that article is specifically not about slagging families.


"Elders will have more company, autistic children will have endlessly patient teachers," Sophia said.

- PO

I already want to murder you, Sophia.

Sophia:  why?

Because there are few things which would make life even more of a drag for old geezers slowing down than some solicitous robo asking, "What can I do to help?"

Unless that robo can take away my pain and make my tallywhacker stand like a California redwood, we don't have a whole lot to say to each other, Sophia.


Ensure you have some type of appliance for personal relief prior to this part.

"What happens when (Sophia fully) wakes up or some other machine, servers running missile defence or managing the stock market?" he asked.

The solution, he said, is "to make the machines care about us."

"We need to teach them love."

- PO

If you could take it easy on the wretching, we could get on with this.

Ed:  they didn't even teach them the Three Laws of Robotics to prevent them from killing us and instead they will learn about love?

Dat's a fact, Jack.  (WIKI:  Three Laws of Robotics)


Sophia:  all you need is love!

And all you need is a bullet, Mary Poppins.


On second thought, Mary Poppins, here's how you can help.  If someone comes around with an AI robo dog and I sprinkle some catnip on it while the owner is not looking, how long will take for either one of them to figure it out.