ROBOTICS Is Hanson’s Robotics Sophia Robot using AI or is it a Marketing Stunt?
Something that may seem odd, is that Sophia is rarely discussed in serious AI debates, even while she is busy scheduling public appearances, and being showcased at blockchain conferences. To understand the reasoning behind this, an exploration of the history of its two eccentric representatives needs to be undertaken.
Who is David Hanson?
David fully understands the importance of having a humanoid robot that has an appearance that is both non-threatening, and welcoming. Credit should absolutely be given to David for creating a robotic humanoid that has been able to capture the human imagination with very limited and scripted interactions with humans.
Who is Ben Goertzel?
Ben Goertzel is the chief scientist and chairman of AI software company Novamente LLC; chairman of the OpenCog Foundation; and advisor to Singularity University. Ben is also the Chief Scientist of Hanson Robotics, the company that created Sophia.
Herein is why Ben Goertzel is often speaking at cryptocurrency and blockchain events. The AGI token was the fundraise for SingularityNET, and the association to Sophia is quite simple. Sophia is shown at these events to keep investors interested in the project.
Is Sophia Scripted?
There is also a lack of input technology. When it comes to building an AGI there is common consensus that input devices are important to form an emergent consciousness. A notion of “self,” is needed as related knowledge and functions are developed gradually according to the system’s experience. Based on Sophia’s lack of mobility and input mechanisms this seems to be something that is ignored. Her only input seems to be auditory, with possibly some type of basic computer vision.
There is also the problem that all of her conversations are pre-scripted. If you want to book Sophia for an event, you need to send five questions which need to be pre-approved by the organizers. The questions need to be asked in a specific order. This signifies that based on the preset questions, Sophia is simply parroting pre-canned responses. This is why the answers she gives are always so interesting, they are designed to evoke emotion in the audience, and the answers are delivered by a human using Sophia as a channel.
It’s an interesting social experiment to understand how humans communicate and interact with humanoid robots, but at no time is there any indication that Sophia could even be remotely considered intelligent or self-aware.
It is due to the above that Sophia continues to be adopted by a mainstream audience that may be deceived in believing that Sophia is more intelligent than she actually is. Meanwhile, she is completely ignored by the AI community that understands that the current state of AI is far more advanced than what Sophia is capable of illustrating. At the very least this highlights that the AI community needs to do a better job of communicating the advancements and progress that are being made every day in AI systems, even if those are simply forms of Narrow AI (also known as Weak AI), and not true AGI.
See the full story here: https://www.unite.ai/is-hansons-robotics-sophia-robot-using-ai-or-is-it-a-marketing-stunt/