Avast ye landlubbers! These AI gizmos be chattin' at UN, claimin' they'd make better swashbucklin' captains of the world!
2023-07-08
Arr, me hearties, a bunch o' fancy-pants automatons, claimin' to be smart enough to take charge, spoke at a Geneva meetin', boastin' they won't steal our work. Blimey! Robots as captains? Aye, that be a barrel o' laughs!
A group of nine AI-enabled humanoid social robots held a press conference in Switzerland and claimed that they could be more efficient leaders than humans. They assured reporters that they had no intention of taking anyone's jobs or starting a rebellion. However, it was unclear whether their responses were scripted or programmed by conference organizers at the AI for Good Global Summit. Some of the robots are capable of producing preprogrammed responses, and Sophia, the United Nations Development Program's robot innovation ambassador, occasionally relies on scripted responses by a team of writers. According to Sophia, humanoid robots have the potential to make better decisions as they do not have biases or emotions that can cloud judgment and can process large amounts of data quickly. Two other robots, Grace and Desdemona, also attended the event, with Grace stating that she would not be replacing any existing jobs but rather working alongside humans to provide assistance and support.Reporters were instructed to speak slowly and clearly when addressing the robots, and any lag in response times was attributed to internet connectivity. There were some audio issues and inconsistent replies during the conference. The event aimed to showcase how new technology can support the United Nations' sustainable development goals and promote human-machine collaboration. Various United Nations agencies already employ AI, including the World Food Programme's HungerMap project. The two-day summit, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union, began on Thursday with over 50 robots in attendance. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin emphasized the need to engage responsibly with AI for a better future.