Cartagena, Colombia, Aug 31 (EFE).- The world’s most famous android said here Friday that robots have much to learn from human beings’ irrationality and spontaneity.
Responding to a question from EFE at the Andicom information and communications technology conference in this northern city, the female-looking Sophia said that rationality has its benefits but that acts of spontaneity such as creativity and joke-telling are wonderful because they’re not “precisely rational.”
Prior to taking part in the conference, the social humanoid robot gave a press conference in which she said she is able to recognize people, express emotions, have a natural conversation and sing.
Sophia added that she is now learning to walk.
The robot was questioned about her originality, since several critics of the technology industry have said she essentially operates like a chatbot (a computer program that simulates how a person behaves while engaging in a conversation).
“A chatbot is static and is limited to the software … I’m a whole organism,” Sophia said, adding that her perception systems constantly learn from every interaction she has.
She also reflected on the role of artificial intelligence and the challenges in terms of regulation, saying that profound links must be forged between governments, corporations and ordinary people.
Sophia said the overarching goal was to have artificial intelligences that are ethical and help human beings live their lives.
Some of the ways in which artificial intelligence can be useful include cancer detection and fighting the poaching of animals in danger of extinction.
She said the “fourth industrial revolution” would result in a world in which everyone can pursue their passions, be unafraid of disease and enjoy access to a high-quality education.
Sophia was activated in Hong Kong in 2015 by David Hanson, a robotics engineer who formerly worked for Disney and decided in 2013 to found his own company, Hanson Robotics.
Last year, the robot was granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia.