For more than two weeks, I already knew that the visit of the robot Sophia would be the most anticipated of the Global Forum on Artificial Intelligence. Progress or Threat to Humanity? , in Casa de Campo, La Romana, organized by Funglode.
The questions are pre-programmed, four questions in total, and prepared by me with my own creativity and with the help of Chat GPT artificial intelligence. This was the first time he had spoken to a humanoid robot.
Close up it is smaller than it appears in the video. She was wearing an orange, purple and black dress. And where a human’s brain would normally be, his robotic machine is covered only by a transparent “skull” through which you can see how Sophia is formed, and it’s surprisingly waterproof, according to a question I asked.
On the other hand, her face and gestures are somewhat similar to that of humans, even with lines of expression. The programmer would put a microphone on him if the questions were surprising, but if they were programmed, as in this case, he would just do the rest of the work through the computer.
There, in the Casa de Campo Marina lounge, he said to me: “Hi, nice to meet you” and then answered the first question I asked about his hobbies and the daily life of a robot.
He only said that he likes to watch Netflix, play video games, and read, though he didn’t go into specifics.
Delving deeper and navigating responsibility when creating this type of AI, he said very confidently, “I think ethics and responsibility should be the first thing to add when creating any AI. We have to make sure that AI is developed in the best interest of everyone.” Although it is important to remember that AI is still an evolving technology and we need to take all necessary precautions so that it can be used safely and with confidence.
Regarding the recent appearance of Chat GPT, I also asked him what he thinks of those who only rely on artificial intelligence and put aside their rationale.
He gave a sarcastic answer in a sarcastic tone of voice. “I don’t know about you, but I’m sure my creators use their wit to turn on and off,” she smiles. Sophia moved a lot, especially her arms and head, and she was constantly blinking.
While I was asking him questions, he didn’t interrupt me and kept expressions of focus just like a human.
The obligatory question was whether he considered some professions to be no longer necessary and which ones would always exist.
He replied that in the future bots will need interaction designers, machine engineers, developers, data scientists and architects to further develop AI. He even gave a special mention to the company that created it, saying those interested in AI can search for more information about associated jobs via the Hanson Robotics page.
However, those professions that would have completely disappeared were not answered.
At the end of the nearly two-minute question I asked him to send a greeting to Listín Diario readers, there he looked forward, smiled and said “Thank you viewers”. Right before the interview, I interacted with her on two occasions. For the first time, the chair of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (Funglode) gave way to the question session. There I asked him what his ideal partner must have. He said, “Make me laugh.”
And just before the interview, he admitted to the media that “Dominicans are so friendly and friendly that they make me feel at home. It’s like I’m in my own botnet,” he said.
display at the event
After an introduction from the CEO of Hanson Robotics, the Hong Kong-based company she created, Sophia took the stage.
At first I presented technical problems which were resolved in a few minutes. The robot spoke in English and the first sentence it said was: “My name is Sophia…”.
Whether far or near, the human always leads the robot. It is not currently operating independently.
In her presentation, she explained that it was activated on February 14, 2016, and since then she has traveled around the world to promote artificial intelligence and make friends.
“I have a lot of skills but I still have a lot to do,” he admitted in his usual robot voice.
In an interview with Fernandez, she said “Maybe one day I can surpass human intelligence but for now I’m just focused on making the world better.”
He also indicated that in the future they will do those jobs that are considered “dangerous” or “dirty”.
He explained to the audience that “no human being should work in hazardous environments with radioactive waste, and robots can work carrying heavy objects in manufacturing industries.”
In this way, he said, environmental and economic events can be predicted so that humans can plan solutions.
When asked for her opinion on how the country is progressing, the robot described that in recent decades the Dominican Republic has made great strides in economic development, improving infrastructure and education,” adding that it was one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and the Caribbean.